The Dragon Who Swallowed The Moon
by JonnyStarwind
Summary: Inspired by the Lunar Eclipse on the Winter Solstice of 2010 and ancient Asian myths. The Straw Hats arrive onto a new island that causes a weird feeling in the swordsman. What is going to happen and can anyone stop it? RoZo in later. R&R please
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 The Arrival to the Fated Island**

In the Great Pirate Era, crews around the world muster all of their strength and courage to sail for the great treasure known as the "One Piece" and to earn the title of King of the Pirates. To say that the Straw Hat crew was ordinary would be the greatest insult to the word "ordinary." The musician of this particular crew is a skeleton with an afro and over 8 feet tall. The shipwright is a cyborg with a blue pompadour and powered by cola. The doctor is a blue-nosed reindeer that can change in size and happens to be the youngest member of the crew. After those three main obscure-looking crew members, the rest of the crew looks normal, save for one. While the remaining relatively normal looking crew, the first mate has a peculiar hair color: green. This had never been an issue before. That is, until their newest adventure.

The Thousand Sunny dropped anchor at a small island known as Tsukikage Island. Usopp the sniper and inventor went out to pick up more gunpowder and various other tidbits for his weapons. Sanji the chef stepped off to buy some more ingredients and food as well as pick up some of the local dishes that caught his fancy. Nami the navigator went to buy more clothes and map-making equipment. The Straw Hats' captain, Monkey D. Luffy, walked around with Brook the musician and Tony Tony Chopper the doctor, picking up medical supplies and trying out the local meat vendors. Franky went off to pick up some supplies to make repairs to the various parts of the Sunny as well as new materials to build new enhancements to the ship too. Nico Robin, the crew's archaeologist and most-knowledgeable person, loaded up her backpack to look around for more historical artifacts and ancient ruins to learn more about the world.

Zoro offered to stay behind and watch the ship until one of the other crew members returned. There was nothing really for him to buy in town except maybe a pint of rum or two at the local bar. He decided to kill the time by working out with his newly acquired sword, Shuusui. This sword had a weight to it that was in contrast to its predecessor, Yubashiri. As he unsheathed Shuusui to begin his workout, a weird sensation swept over him. He hadn't had one like this since his encounter with his old friend Saga and the evil Seven Stars Sword that possessed him. He felt the blade but felt that the sensation was not from the sword itself. As an experienced swordsman who was in tune with his swords, he knows his swords have a style and an energy that can be read. "What the hell is going on here?" thought the swordman. There was something weird going on, and knew his swords were not to blame. Little did he know how right he was.

Usopp was the first to return with his haul to see our green-haired swordsman swinging his sword. Zoro's swings were enough to cause the ship to rock a bit as he swung the heavy blade. "Oi, Zoro." said the long-nosed comrade, but Zoro continued to swing. _"Zoro must be lost in his training,"_ thought Usopp as he started to approach Zoro. As he took a step towards the swordsman, he paused as he was stopped by an unseen force. Fear began to grip Usopp as it usually does, but this time was weird. _"What the hell is this? I've never felt this type of fear before,"_ he thought as he hollered out to Zoro again. "Oi, Zoro. I'm back. You can go into town now." he said much louder, but the swordsman's swings became stronger, shaking the ship even further with each swing. Usopp was becoming even further scared as he looked at Zoro's face, and he became mortified. Zoro's eyes were wide open and zoned out, his face was distressed, and his mouth open with his teeth pressed hard, like he was possessed. Usopp took another step forward with all of his might and yelled out, "OI ZORO! WHAT'S WRONG?" The swordsman's body spun around and headed towards Usopp, with the sword pointing towards him. "Oi, oi, OI, ZORO!"

The swordsman stopped inches from Usopp; the blade nearly nicking Usopp's ear as a few strands of his hair fell upon his shoulder. Terror-stricken Usopp watched as Zoro's possessed eyes returned to normal as Zoro looked and saw the position he was in. "Usopp? What's happening?" Zoro asked as he pulled the sword back and resheathed it. Usopp fell to the ground; his legs giving out to the fear that had consumed his body at that moment of near death. Usopp shook his head and stood up with anger. "What's happening? WHAT'S HAPPENING? You nearly cut my head in two just now," yelled the angry and scared sniper. "WHAT THE HELL CAME OVER YOU, ZORO?," he yelled as he felt for blood on his ear. Zoro looked at his swords and back to his frightened and angry shipmate. "I don't know. I was getting ready to train with Shuusui when I felt a weird sensation. Next thing I know, I staring at you in the face," said the swordsman. Usopp became a little more frightened over this bit of revelation. Zoro has never been the kind to loose control like this, granted he can be scary when a challenge is presented to Zoro, and he relishes in overcoming it. To loose all control though? Something else was coming into play here, and it had to do with his swords. "Well, I've off to get a drink," said the swordsman as he headed towards the side near the pier. "W-w-w-wait, Zoro," hollered Usopp. As Zoro turned around, he could see that Usopp had concern and worry across his face. "What is it?," inquired the swordsman. Usopp cleared his throat as he continued, "Please don't unsheath your swords while in town. Something is going on, and I don't want this to happen again while your in town, okay?" Seeing his shipmate's concern, Zoro nodded, "Sure." With Usopp breathing a sigh of relief, Zoro hopped off of the ship and began to walk into the town.

As Zoro began his stroll into the town to the nearest bar, Robin was halfway across the island when she discovered an ancient wall with hieroglyphs similar to those of poneglyphs. As she began to ascertain a translation, she heard a sound behind her. She used her Hana Hana no Mi powers to grow an eye on the wall in front of her to view behind her, catching sight of a club being raised to strike. Robin dashed to the side to see an elderly lady holding the club and held her hands up. "I mean you no harm, madam. I just wish to observe and learn, and I will be on my way," she said with sincerity. Robin backed up against another one of the walls as the old woman walked towards her but stopped short as she jaw began to drop. "It's...it's you," she said as she lowered the club. Robin turned to see what had caused the reaction, and her eyes grew in shock and wonder. The ancient depictions on the wall showed a likeness of Robin with her multiple arms ensnaring something that was covered by the natural moss and lichen. She brushed away the plants to reveal a picture of a green dragon with three fangs. "What is this?," usually composed archaeologist muttered as she began to decipher.

"Only the Maiden of the Flower can prevent the death of the world from the Tri-Fanged Dragon as he attempts to eat the moon and shroud the world in darkness," said the old lady as Robin turned to hear her. "I take it you were trying to read that," she said once again as Robin turned back to the wall and continued to brush off the plant life that had grown onto it. "This legend has been passed down ever since the last occurrence of this fate nearly 370 years ago. I am Mamiya, the descendant of the Maiden of the Flower who vanquished the dragon so long ago." Robin continued to brush away the plants until the full exposure of the wall was complete. Much to the horror of Robin, it shows something she did not wish to see. It showed that the dragon was originally a man, a man with green hair and three swords. "Kenshi-san," she said as she continued to view the wall. The depictions showed the swordsman changing into the dragon, flying up and devouring the moon, and returning to a dead world. The panels behind this shows the dragon confronting the Robin look-alike and ultimately killing her and itself. Mamiya picked up on the words said by Robin and grew puzzled. "You know of this man?" Robin turned back to the old woman. "Yes, he is one of my fellow crew members, Roronoa Zoro," she said calmly, trying to hide her concern. "RORONOA?," yelled the old lady as she dropped her club and began to fall. Robin used her powers to grow arms behind Mamiya to catch her as she fell. "What does Kenshi-san's family name have to do with this?," asked Robin as she fetched her canteen from her backpack for her. The old lady raised her hand and pointed at the depiction of the man. Robin went over and deciphered the symbols above the man's head. The Man of Roronoa. "There's no denying it. This is Kenshi-san. He is the dragon that will destroy the world," she said as she packed up her things and went over to the old woman. "You must kill him before he changes during the full moon, or you will die along with him," Mamiya said as she was raised back to her feet by Robin. "There must be another way to...," said the raven-haired pirate, but she was cut off by Mamiya. "You must get off of this island before then, if you wish to spare both of your lives. This island is the sole reason for the change, and he must not allowed to live if you cannot go as far away as possible." As the sun began to set, Robin looked to the sky to see that their time frame was quite short. The moon was but 2 days away from reaching its full phase.

Meanwhile, Zoro had reached the bar and walked up to an empty stool. He looked at the elderly bartender and held up a couple of berri. "A pint of rum please," he asked as he looked around. It was your typical bar, nothing too fancy. As the old bartender handed him the tankard, he noticed the swords on Zoro's hip. His eyes began to widen as the gears of his memory slowly turned as he pieced together the characteristics of his customer. "Excuse me, sir. What is your name?" Zoro looked up at the bartender as he could see fear building up inside. He responded, "Roronoa Zoro. Why do you ask?" The bartender began to back up slowly, maintaining his stare of fear at Zoro. He reached for a gun placed behind him and raised it at the swordsman. Zoro began to go for his swords, but Usopp's words rang through his head. He simply raised his arms and replied, "You treat all of your new customers like this?" The bartender stopped shaking a bit before he responded, "You need to leave this place and this island if you know what's good for you." Zoro stepped up, finished his tankard, and walked out of the building. The old man set the gun down as his hands shook like crazy. _"I've got to tell Mamiya. The Man of Roronoa is here. The Prophecy is happening soon,"_ he thought as he left it in the hands of one of the other staff members.

Tsukikage = Moonlight


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Fate and Her Cruel Intentions**

The crew began to make their collective ways back to the Sunny, having spent nearly the entire day out on the island. Sanji arrived with Nami. He ran into her during his errands and offered his services by carrying her purchases in his cart that he had borrowed for his supplies. Among his various foods and spices, he had a notebook full of the recipes of the local dishes that he managed to coax out of his fellow culinary-enthusiasts as well as a section filled with Nami's new clothing and map-making items. Franky was the next to arrive at the ship, carrying a massive crate, filled to the brim with a variety of tools, metals, and cola. Following closely behind him was the trio of Brook, Chopper, and Luffy with their assortment of medical books, sheet music, and food from the local vendors. Usopp greeted everyone with smiles but kept a tight lip on the occurrence with Zoro earlier. He was going to wait until everyone returned before discussing what had transpired.

The sun had set for the day and the moon had risen as the remaining two Straw Hats have yet to return to the ship they call home. Zoro, having been forced out of the bar at gun point, was making his way back to the ship, but due to his directionally-challenged mental compass, he managed to go further away from his destination. He walked along the street, _"One pint of rum isn't enough for me,"_ he thought to himself as he looked around to see if the ship was close. _"I'll just grab another drink before I head back,"_ though the swordsman as he swiveled his head, looking for another bar. He saw a fortune teller, sitting on her cushion near a lit torch and gazing into her crystal ball. He walked over with the intention of asking for the nearest bar, but he stopped when she peered up towards him. The fortune teller was an old lady, whose sight had faded from her eyes many years ago. _"Well, so much for that idea. I was hoping she'd know,"_ he thought as he began to turn around. "I know a lot more than you think, Roronoa Zoro," said a raspy old voice. He stopped and faced the old lady once more to see her looking straight at him. The milky film that laid over her eyes was as white as alabaster but seemed to let her stare into his soul. "Oi, what's going here? How did you know my name?" asked the perplexed swordsman as he began to wave his hand in front of her eyes. She grabbed his flailing hand and held on tightly. "The Man of Roronoa, your fate has been cast. The Dragon of Death will arrive at last." said the old lady as she lunged at Zoro with a dagger, nicking his side. Zoro grabbed his side as he turned to look for the old woman but couldn't find a trace of her. The wound on his side had disappeared too, with the hole in his shirt being the only evidence that the event had happened.

Nico Robin, amidst learning of the ancient prophecy, aided the old lady Mamiya to her house that resided in between the ruins and the port where the Sunny was currently anchored. The raven-haired pirate made her way towards the kitchen as she turned towards the host. "Would you like for me to make some tea or coffee as you tell me more, Mamiya," she asked. She raised her hand and pointed, "The tea is in the third cupboard on the left." Robin made her way over and began to make the tea. "Could you please continue with the story, Mamiya," she asked as she placed the kettle onto the stove. Mamiya looked at Robin with a furrow across her aged brow. "It is NOT a story! It is the TRUTH," she said as she shook her hand at the archaeologist. "My apologies. Would you please tell me more about the original event," said Robin as she grabbed cups out of the cupboard. Mamiya settled down and sat back in her chair. "The original Maiden also had the same ability as you possess. As I was told, the dragon and the Maiden were once lovers, but a mysterious evil force took hold of her beloved and threatened to plunge the world into darkness. In a last ditch effort, the Maiden," she said as Robin handed her a cup of the brewed tea. Mamiya took a sip and continued, "She used her powers to bind the dragon and sent it into the ocean to drown, but the dragon managed to grab her with its tail and drag her under the waves. Her possession of these abilities robbed her of the ability swim. The evil force that caused these events to occur stated that it will happen once again and will plunge the world into darkness. Our ancestors inscribed the events upon the walls that you saw and warned us to try and prevent it from ever occurring," she said as she finished her drink.

Robin sipped on her cup during the story as she absorbed all of the information. "Why did you say we had to get off of the island if the change is going to happen anyway," asked Robin. Mamiya looked at her and replied, "The prophecy will only come to fruition when The Man of Roronoa encounters the island and is marked by the evil itself. The faster you are off of the island, the less likely the evil will find him and leave its mark. It is the mark that starts the change." Robin pondered this new information. _"So as long as Kenshi-san stays on the ship and doesn't leave, the chances of this event will drop significantly, but we must leave as soon as possible,"_ she thought as she finished her cup. "We will try and set sail as soon as we can. Thank you very much for the tea and the information, Mamiya," said Robin as she collected the cups and placed them on the counter. "I will head back and try to get us off of the island as soon as we can." As Robin set them down, the door opened with the bartender gasping for breath. "Sappo, what's the matter," asked Mamiya Robin grabbed a glass of water and brought it over to the man. "Sister, the Prophecy... the Man of Roronoa... I saw him. He was in my bar," he said as he took drinks of the water and began to breathe normally. Robin took this as her sign to leave. "I must head back to my ship and see that he is alright." Mamiya looked up, watching Robin head to the door. "Please," she said as she grabbed Robin's wrist as she walked near her, "promise me that you will take care of your nakama, should he be marked. The fate of the world is at stake." Robin looked at her and could feel the fear in Mamiya through her shaking arm. "I promise," she said with a demeanor that reminded her of her old days with Baroque Works. She left the house and began to make her way to the house, pondering her decision to kill one of the people who put his own life on the line to save her from the World Government. _"I hope that it doesn't have to come to that,"_ she thought as she continued on her way to the Sunny. As she made her way, Zoro was making his way toward the ship, tracing the edges of the cut in his shirt. Beneath the shirt, a small mark began to appear. It was a single scale.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: It Begins to Sink In**

The crew remained on the deck of the Thousand Sunny from their ventures around the town as Zoro jumped from the pier onto the ship. The crew looked over and said their usual greetings to the swordsman as a look of concern came over Usopp's face as recalled the event from earlier. It's hard enough for Usopp to have the courage to take on a person in a fight, but he would rather do that then talk with Zoro at a personal level on a normal day let alone a day where Zoro nearly slices him in half. _"Alright Usopp, you got this. It's just Zoro, your nakama. Nevermind that look from earlier. And the swords. And the fact I nearly died." _Usopp thought as he failed to rile up the courage to talk to him. As Zoro continued to walk away from the group, Usopp slapped up the courage to talk to Zoro. "Oi Zoro," he said as he made his way over to the swordsman. Zoro looked back towards his long-nosed comrade and replied, "Oh, hey Usopp," with a tired demeanour. Zoro looked disheveled as the events from the whole day began to takes it toll on him. "I w-w-wanted to talk to you about what happened earlier," said the sniper as his knees began to buckle a little. Zoro let out a little yawn as he observed his crewmate standing in front of him. He could see the concern on his face, but Zoro wanted to make sure that what happened earlier with the old fortune-teller was real. "Can it wait until dinner Usopp? I want to grab a quick nap up in the crow's nest first," replied the green-haired man as he began to walk over towards the mast that held his destination. Usopp nodded and replied, "S-s-sure thing, Zoro. I'll see you then." With that said, Zoro nodded and began to make his way up the mast towards the nest.

Unbeknownst to the two men at the time, Robin made her way aboard the ship and was greeted by the usual clamour from the ship's chef, Sanji as he offered her some coffee and cake. She agreed to a cup of coffee, which sent him into the kitchen to prepare it for her. As she waited, she looked over at Zoro and Usopp and read the sniper's body language. _"Long-nose-kun's shaking knees and stuttering speech were usual in times of great stress, so to see in when he's talking to a crew member, something must have happened,"_ deduced the raven-haired woman as she watched the swordsman walk away and head up the mast. She walked over to Usopp after Zoro had made his way up the mast, at which time Sanji appeared. "Robin-chan, I have your coffee right here," said the love-struck cook as he presented the cup to her. "Thank you, Cook-san. If you don't mind, I would like to have a private conversation with Long-nose-kun," she said to the blond-haired chef, to which he bowed and made his way over to the orange-haired navigator to swoon her as well. Usopp turned at the mention of his long nose to see the raven-haired archaeologist sipping on her coffee. "Is there something you want to talk about Robin," asked the sniper as began to regain his composure after speaking with Zoro. "Actually, I was wondering if you could tell me about what happened between you and Kenshi-san," she replied as she took another sip of her coffee. Usopp's face went into shock as he thought, _"H-h-how does she know that something happened?"_ Robin smiled her usual smile whenever she startles a crew member with her innate skills and replied, "It's alright, Long-nose-kun. I saw your concern and wanted to know if I can help." Usopp checked to see that no one was near them and began to tell her about the event that happened earlier between the two. After the last detail was mentioned, Robin looked up towards the crow's nest and back to Usopp, saying, "Thank you Long-nose-kun. I'll go up there and see if I can talk to him about this, so you can go and relax. Okay?" Usopp smiled to her and replied, "Thank you Robin. I'll let you two know when dinner is ready before Luffy eats it all." Usopp ran off to go tell more stories to Chopper as Robin grew an arm with her Devil's Fruit power to hold her coffee and began to ascend the mast into the crow's nest.

Zoro opened the hatch door to enter the crow's nest and closed it securely behind him. He looked around to make sure that no one was in there as well. He walked over to one of the mirrors and look at the hole that was in his shirt and began to have doubts that the event ever took place. "It was probably there from the last fight and I didn't even know about it," he said to himself as he began to poke his finger into the cut in his shirt, only to discover something unusual. A look of confusion ran across Zoro's face as he removed his shirt to discover that there was a scale on his body. The only thing the swordsman could say was, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?" His finger began to trace the unnatural occurrence, to which an astounding wave of energy surged over him. He looked into the mirror to see that a visible aura of darkness began to shroud over him as he watched the scales multiply from one to four to sixteen. He looked up from the scales to see see his face and saw that the image began to morph into a monstrous form. Flashes of destruction and death began to present themselves on the mirror as the monstrous-looking reflection reached out towards Zoro as if it was a window rather than a mirror. Zoro took a step away from the outstretched hand as fear began to grab hold of the green-haired man who had stared down death on numerous occasions. **"The Man of Roronoa!**" A voice rang from the mirror that sounded demonic and frightening. **"Your Fate Is Sealed. Your Body And Soul Will Be Mine To Command And Plunge This World Into Darkness!"** said the evil voice as the arm retracted back into the mirror and the images returned to normal. Zoro continued to stare in bewilderment and fear as he looked down to see that the scales were still present. Zoro was sweating bullets and gasping for air out of pure fear for the first time in a long time. "What the hell was that? I've never felt anything like this before. What's going on?" As he began to regain feeling in his arms to place his shirt back on, a knock came from the hatch door.

"Kenshi-san, may I come in? I have something to talk to you about," Robin asked as she awaited the swordsman's response. Zoro hurriedly placed his shirt back on as he sat on the weight bench that was nearby. "Go ahead. The door's open," he replied as Robin began to lift up the hatch door and enter the crow's nest. As she lowered the door behind her, she grabbed her coffee from her extra arm, allowing it to fade away as flower petals. "What is it that you want Robin? I'm a bit busy," said the swordsman in a harsh tone that generally arose whenever he and Robin talked. Even after all that they've been through, Zoro still had that feeling of unease when it concerned the archaeologist. She grabbed a chair from the opposite side of the room and brought it closer to Zoro before taking a seat. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened between you and Long-nose-san earlier, and a possible cause for it," said the raven-haired hair woman as she began to read the body language of the green-haired man. He was usually aware of her gift and capable of controlling himself, but he was still suffering from the terrible vision that happened just moments before. He was unaware of the remaining sweat the hung from his brow, his slight gasping for air, and minute tremors in his hands. All of these were noticed by the woman sitting across from him before see asked him about the incident. _"Something is up with Kenshi-san. He is not like this at all when I talk with him usually,"_ she thought as another sip was taken from her coffee. "Were you just working out? Your brow seems to be covered in sweat," said Robin as she grew an arm to grab a nearby towel for him. "Oh, uh, um, yeah. I was," Zoro stumbled out as he grabbed the towel from the manifested arm. "Do you believe in fate, Kenshi-san," asked the archaeologist as she grabbed another sip of coffee. As he wiped the sweat from his brow, the word "fate" brought the images from before into his mind again and the voice that rang out from it. _**"Your Fate Is Sealed."**_ Robin could see a difference in his posture as he finished wiping his brow. She decided to take him to the ruins to show him her discovery. "I have something I want to show you, but we need to hurry. We don't want Captain-san to eat all of our food when dinner comes," she said while standing up. Zoro was confused by this sudden request. _"She wants to show me something? It can't possibly be worse than what I just saw though,"_ he thought as he stood up and made his way to the hatch door and opened it. "I'll meet you down there then," said the swordsman as he just through the door, landing on the deck beneath. As Robin turned off the light and began to lower herself through the hatch, the moonlight coming through the window reflected off of the knife she had tucked away in the back of her pants.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Ultimate Resolve & A Sliver of Hope**

Robin finished climbing down the mast and met up with Zoro who sat along the edge of the ship waiting for her. As the two were about to disembark, Franky popped out of the doorway that led to the workshop area for him and Usopp. "Oi, you two," said the blue-haired shipwright as he strolled out the door with a bottle of cola in one hand and a greasy wrench in the other. He wiped the cold bottle across his brow, smudging some remnants of oil that managed to land there. "Curly Cook said that dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes," he said as he took a swig of cola. "Thank you, Franky. Let Cook-san know that we'll return around then," said the raven-haired woman as she turned back towards Zoro. The duo of Robin and Zoro disembarked from the ship and began to walk down the street towards the ruins. As they made their way down the street, Robin remembered her question she asked in the crow's nest and didn't receive a response.

"Kenshi-san, you still haven't answered my question from earlier," Robin started as she looked over to the man that was 9 years younger than her. Zoro's eyebrow twitched as was his usual response when she heard that name she had for him. She would use the nicknames for several of the crewmates, but she was starting to become more relaxed with the names for certain members. Everyone but Zoro. She's even called Sanji by his actual name a couple of times. Zoro wondered why this bothered him so much, but he passed it aside for now as he began to ponder her question. "Fate? Well, I do believe that it exists, but it doesn't define who I am or what I will do. Once I've chosen my path, I will travel it," said the swordsman as he stated his answer in his usual blunt manner. He could see a look of intrigue wash over Robin's face as the key word of fate resounded in his head, reminding him of the terrible vision from earlier. He decided to take his mind off of that as he returned the question to her.

"What are your thoughts about fate, Archaeologist-san? I think it is only fair to know your thoughts as well," said the green-haired man with a smirk on his face. After all, Robin's naming technique can work both ways. Robin was a bit perturbed by the swordsman's wordplay, but she knew he did it out of spite for her use of it against him for so long. "My thoughts about fate have changed since I joined this crew," she started as Zoro's ears perked in intrigue. "I believed that my fate was to be alone and die for being different. Thanks to you and the rest of the crew, I have learned that my fate is not written in stone," she said, with the last words playing in her mind as she recalled the images in the ruins. That image made her face go from the smile that had arrived from the thoughts of her new fate to that of a somber nature, seeing as her fate seems to contradict her statement. Zoro couldn't explain why he had to, but he felt the urge to reach out and hold her hand. As his hand approached hers, a voice rang out from the darkness of the alleyways near them. "It seems like your fate now belongs to us."

Zoro and Robin turned their heads towards the source of the voice to see a man walk out from the shadows along with a gang of twelve on both sides of the street. Zoro cursed himself for not noticing the threat that has revealed itself as he sized up the number of people and weapons they had, ranging from clubs to swords. "Well, well, well. Two of the Straw Hats just walking in our town on a date it seems." This statement made Zoro and Robin look at each other and think that the guy was crazy. "These two alone total to two hundred million berries, gang," the leader continued to say as his group began to fidget and prepare to strike at the word from the boss. Zoro tensed up as he could feel their intentions. _"I can't draw my swords. If what happened earlier happens again, I might not be able to control myself. I have to fend them off without my swords,"_ thought the swordsman as he restrained himself from his usual mannerism for battle. "Let's get 'em!" With the order to strike let loose, the encircling gang leapt forward to seize their two prey.

Zoro managed to fend off several of them, grabbing a couple of them and throwing them into their allies as he grabbed a dropped pipe and began to assault them with it. Robin put up a fight in her usual manner, summoning her arms and bending her opponents into positions of damaging postures that prevented their attempts. Unfortunately, the downside to summoning the limbs requires her sight, and you can't see everywhere when a fight is happening. One of the gang members manages to sneak behind Robin and crack her over the head with his fist, knocking her out. Zoro turns to see Robin fall to the ground; the look in his eyes change to shocked as he watches her collide with the ground. During his dazed moment, several members of the gang piled on top of him. "ROBIN!" This was the only thing to escape his lips as he stretched his head out, trying to break free from the pile of flesh that held him in place. The guy that hit her picked her up by the neck, as she remained incapacitated from the strike. "Hey boss, she's still breathing. We don't need them alive, right?" The boss looked at his goon with a smile on his face. "We don't need them alive, but don't damage her too much. We can still use the body for later before we collect our reward," said the boss as he licked his lips while ordering more men to take Zoro down. "NOOOOoooooooo!" The only word to form now as he struggled some more as clubs and pipes collided with his body. He watched as the man pulled a knife from his boot strap to cut her neck. Zoro knew he only had one option to stop this, and he had no choice but to unsheathe a sword. Unfortunately, he chose the wrong one in his haste, as Sandai Kitetsu became free from its holster.

A pulse surged through Zoro's entire being as the grip on his sword tightened like a vice. The scales that lied beneath his shirt once again multiplied unbeknownst to him, growing from four to sixteen and from sixteen to sixty-four. His eyes changed to an evil hue of red as he watched the knife blade grow closer to Robin's neck. With a swift movement, he stood up, launching his assailants into various directions, letting out a mighty yell of rage and power. He ran over towards Robin's captor and disarmed him at his elbows, causing Robin to drop to the ground. This swift motion left the man stunned as he stumbled backwards, realizing that he no longer had arms. The street gang watched as their comrade let out blood-curdling screams from his injuries. Zoro turned his head, facing the gang with a sadistic look on his face. "You are all going to suffer and beg for death," said the sinister-looking swordsman as his voice changed with his current appearance.

As the members of the gang looked in horror, several of them tried to run away. Zoro drew his sword up and used one of his moves, 36 Pound Cannon, at the opponents fleeing the area. The strength from the move caused stones from the road to fly and strike them and the slash within the wind left deep cuts all over their bodies. As the screams from the first victim continued to ring out, Robin regained consciousness and looked to see the damage left by Zoro. She turned to see the disembodied hands that once belonged to her captor. She turned back towards Zoro to see that he was not the same as before. "Kenshi-san," she managed to get out as she started to stand up. It had no affect on him. She stood up completely, yelling out, "Kenshi-san!" Not a change in his demeanor as he walked over to the fear-stricken leader of the gang. "Now, you will die at the hands of your own prey," he said as he let out a sinister laughter as he raised his sword to strike him down. Robin couldn't let him do this; it would destroy him when he regained control of himself to see what he had done. She couldn't let that happen. As the blade made its way down towards the gang leader, Robin mustered up as much energy as she could and let out a mighty "ZOROOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooo!" The blade stopped less than an inch from the man's skull as Zoro's eyes returned to their natural color and hair fell from the gang leader's head.

As Zoro steadily regained more control of his body, the gang leader grabbed his armless comrade and ran off, fearing the swordsman would finish what he started. Zoro looked down at his blade and saw the crimson fluid drip from the sharp blade. He looked up to see the damage done to the people and street as he nearly dropped his sword out of horror. He remembered about his traveling companion, so he turned to see that Robin had fallen down to her knees out of relief. The swordsman quickly sheathed his blade and ran over to the archaeologist. Zoro bent down beside her saying, "Are you okay?" Robin manages to stand up, almost stumbling at first, but she still stands. "I'm alright Kenshi-san, but the question is: are you alright?" Zoro looked down at his hands and shirt, both covered by small droplets of blood. Robin looks on and grimaces as she sees the look of confusion and terror streak across Zoro's face. "What the hell is going on with me Robin?" The swordsman was shaking out of pure fear. He had lost all control of his body, and he had caused much destruction without the ability to stop it. He looked up at the raven-haired woman with a look in his eyes, pleading for help.

Robin was taken aback at this sight. She had never seen much emotions in Zoro, but fear was the furthest among those ever seen by her. This new side of Zoro nearly brought Robin to tears as she walked over to Zoro and held him close. "The ruins will hold the answers that you seek Kenshi-san. Let's hurry before this happens again," she said as she grabbed his hand and began to lead to the way. Robin realized that she used her naming process again. She had a feeling of guilt come over her body for using that name for the green-haired man. As they reached the outskirts of the town, the words from Mamiya rang through Robin's mind. _"Please promise me that you will take care of your nakama, should he be marked. The fate of the world is at stake." _Robin saw the destructiveness that this evil could do and it was still two days away from the transformation. She knew she had to kill Zoro, so the world would be saved. However, she had a lingering feeling in her heart that she couldn't explain that told her not to kill the swordsman.

The duo arrived to the ruins moments later as Robin guided Zoro through the underbrush into the chamber that Robin had discovered earlier. As Zoro entered the room, he looked around and saw the depiction of the Robin look-alike on the wall. The moonlight shone through the collapsed roof of the chamber, allowing Zoro to see a majority of the pictures. Even though Zoro couldn't read the writings that accompanied the artwork, he could get the gist of what the pictures meant. The text that stood out the most was a series of symbols that repeated a bit as it hovered over a picture of a man with green hair. "I take it this says my last name, right? The repetition of these symbols in this sort of sequence along with the picture would seem to spell out Roronoa," said the swordsman as melancholy lingered on every word of his phrase.

Robin was astounded by his astute deduction. She knew that he was a brilliant fighter and a decent reversi player as well, but she had no idea he could make this sort of complicated reasoning. "I am truly impressed Kenshi-san, but you are correct; it is your family name that resides over the picture," she said as she watched the young man look at the wall. With a grit of his teeth, Zoro picked up a small rock from the ground and threw it through the opening in the roof. "DAMMIT," yelled the swordsman as he looked back at the ground. "Are you saying that I had no say in my life? That I am going to become this dragon over here," he said as he turned and pointed at the picture of the Tri-Fanged Dragon. He spun to overlook of the island through a hole in a wall. With his back turned towards her, Robin decided that this was the opportune moment to take him out. She took a step forward and slid her arm behind her back, gracing the handle of her knife with her fingers. Zoro's ears may have failed him in the streets, but they were not going to fail him twice. "So, you brought me out here to kill me?" Robin froze a bit in her tracks, but she unsheathed the blade and held it off to her side. "That was the idea, but it is to save the world from this fate," she said as her voice returned to that same tone when she was employed with Baroque Works.

"So, you think I cannot beat this? That I am some weakling?" The swordsman clenched his hands into fists as he visibly shook with anger as he continued to go on. "I didn't just go out to sea looking for adventure like Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper did, or to make a map like Nami did, or to find some stupid fish spot like Sanji did. I came out here to be the strongest swordsman there is." He looked over his shoulder into her eyes. He could see the commitment in her eyes behind the actions that she wanted to take to prevent the travesty that lies ahead, even if it meant the death of a nakama. Zoro took this as his time to show that he can prevent this from happening. He unholstered his swords from his belt and set them aside. He took off his shirt and threw it to the ground, looking down to see that the number of scales had multiplied since he last inspected them. He turned to face Robin and stretched out his arms, posing as he did during his fight with Dracule Mihawk at the Baratie. Robin gasped a bit as she saw the skin of a dragon along his waist. "After everything I have done, for you, for Luffy, and the rest of our crew, you think that THIS is going to stop me? If you think I'm not strong enough to beat this, go ahead and kill me, but you should know this by now. This will not defeat me. I choose my own fate, and I WILL be the greatest swordsman ever," he said with an incredible resolve the seemed to shake the doubt from Robin's heart.

Robin was flustered and her heart skipped a beat as her hand slightly loosened from the handle on the knife upon the sight and determination of Zoro. _"Everything he's done for me? What does he mean by this? I'll make note of this to ask later, but I need to see how far he will go for this,"_ she thought as she pushed aside her curiosity for his words and her feelings to confirm her curiosity for his intentions. She looked over at the three swords of his and came up with a plan to test this resolve. She proceeded to grow a pair of arms, one on Zoro's back and one near his swords. She tossed the knife to the one on his back and had the other toss Zoro his prized white sword, the Wado Ichimonji. "Alright then, Kensh... I mean, Zoro," Robin said as she began to walk near him. "I will test your strength and resolve. This seems to progress as you unsheathe your swords," she said as her fingers traced the grooves of the scales on his waist as they seemed to interweave with his muscles. "Unsheathe your white sword and show me you are strong enough to fight it. If you aren't and become possessed again, I will slice your throat and kill you with your own swords," she said with a voice of monotonous affirmation.

Zoro became hesitant at the maliciousness of Robin's words and his previous actions, but he knew he had to overcome this and prove his own words to himself as well. In one swift motion, he grabbed his childhood keepsake by the handle and sheath, and he pulled them apart as the moonlight gleamed off of the blade. Robin observed that nothing physically was occurring with Zoro as he reaffirmed his beliefs in himself. "Satisfied? I...we will defeat this," he said as he made his cocky smile. Robin smiled back as she looked into the swordsman's eyes and looked down at his waist, following the curvature of the sword. The reflection off of the sword was displaying a picture that she didn't recall from before. "Zoro, can you make a torch for me quickly? There is something new," she said as she made her way towards the wall. Zoro tore a sleeve off of his shirt. It had a smudge of rum from when he wiped his mouth of the rum from earlier. He grabbed a stick and two rocks, wrapping the sleeve around the stick and crashing the two rocks together for a spark.

Managing to create to makeshift torch, the swordsma brought it over to Robin who had been carefully scraping the moss and lichen off of the pictures. The swordsman cocked his head to the side in confusion as he asked, "What the hell is this suppose to be?" The images were showing the dragon being surrounded on eight sides in the design of a flower, appearing to have trapped it. Standing at the end of each of these "petals" were plants according to the translations by Robin. They were as follows: The Maiden of Flower, The Black & White Rose of Soul, The Blue Delphinium of Skill, The Red Cosmos of Strength, The Yellow Daisy of Courage, The Cyan Anemone of Heart, The Pink Tulip of Knowledge, and The Orange Sunflower of Compassion. "I can't seem to discern an idea about it either. Let me write it down quickly and then we'll head to the ship. Tomorrow, we will return here and read into this some more," said the archaeologist as she pulled out some paper and a pencil to make a rubbing of the last few words and pictures before they made their way back to the ship.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: A Night of Fright, A Fight in Sight**

The duo of Robin and Zoro made their way through the town as quickly as possible so as to avoid another attack on them. The two climbed back aboard the ship, greeted by Chopper's smile. "Oh, Robin. Zoro. I thought you two were still on the ship. Where were you tw...AAAAAaahh! Zoro, what happened to your shirt? Did you get into a fight? You have cuts and scrapes everywhere. You do too Robin. Let me go get my bandages and," said the tiny reindeer doctor as Zoro grabbed his arm. "It's alright, Chopper. Robin wanted to show me something in the woods, so we got the scrapes and cuts from there," explained the swordsman as he attempted to calm down the diminutive doctor. "But, but, but what about your sleeve? A branch couldn't tear the whole thing off," replied the youngest of the Straw Hats as he pointed at the bare arm of the green-haired man. Before Zoro could reply, Robin stepped in. "We needed a torch to see some of the pictures, Chopper. Kenshi-san offered his sleeve for the flame part of it. No need to worry. Let's head over and grab some dinner then, shall we?" The smile on her face and tone of her voice was able to calm the easily-excited Chopper. With that said, the three of them went inside and grabbed seats around the table. Little attention was brought up in regards to Zoro's sleeve, but they played it off when it arose in conversation.

As the dinner ended, the crew went about its usual manner. Usopp and Franky worked on more inventions and modifications, Chopper studied more medicine, Nami drew up more maps from their previous adventures and the current island, Brook played violin out on the deck, and Sanji kept Luffy from breaking into the fridge. Before the two went off to their separate ways, Robin had a quick discussion with Zoro. "Kenshi-san, why don't you go get some sleep? It's been a rough day," said the archaeologist. "What about you though? You had it just as rough," questioned the stubborn swordsman. Robin shook her head and she let out a sigh. "As much as I would like to, I need to look into the rubbing we made as well as my notes and see how these are connected to the situation at hand," she said as she held out the folded rubbing she made. Zoro attempted to say something, but he decided that she had the better idea. "Alright then Robin, we'll have it your way, but don't stay up too long. You need your rest. From what I could gather, this whole fate thing has both of us entwined in it," he said as he began to make his way up to the crow's nest once more. "Kenshi-san, the men's bedroom is the other direction," said the raven-haired woman, thinking his usual misdirection was at fault here. The swordsman stopped and turned his head slightly. "Not safe for them. Should I happen to lose control, I'd prefer not to hurt anyone," he said as he looked forward again and started to climb up the mast.

Robin's heart sank for a quick moment with that last remark by the swordsman. She could hear and feel the melancholy that hung on every word. She knew that feeling all too well, having lived the life that she did. It was only with this crew was she able to truly feel happiness. It was because of that man she was able to truly be free, and she now has to see him suffer from this. As she made her way to the library and began to look into her notes, her mind began to interject any studying thoughts with those pertaining to the swordsman. _"Once I've chosen my path, I will travel it." "__After everything I have done, for you...you think that THIS is going to stop me?" "This will not defeat me. I choose my own fate, and I WILL be the greatest swordsman ever."_ _"I...we will defeat this." __"...this whole fate thing has both of us entwined in it." _These lines played over and over in her mind as the image of Zoro standing shirtless with his arms stretched out, willing to accept the fate that Robin would deal out. Her fingers tingled as their tactile memory recalled every ridge and texture that the scales and musculature of his body presented from when she dragged it across.

An unlikely memory found its way into her mind as well when she recalled her finger tracing his physique. "_Well, well, well. Two of the Straw Hats just walking in our town on a date it seems."_ Robin snapped out of her mind-wandering upon recalling that statement, feeling a rush of warmth going across her face. She held up a mirror that she kept along the desk to see that she was blushing quite hard. "It was nothing like that. We were heading to the ruins," she said to herself, trying to justify the action. As she said that, the thought popped into her head. The two of them actually going on a date. As the thought being next to Zoro after all of those statements and images from before arose in her mind, the warmth and redness returned to her face. "No, no, no. I don't have time for this kind of foolishness. Besides, he's obviously not interested in me," she said to herself. She put the mirror down and began to focus on the task at hand, looking back at her notes and rubbings.

Zoro entered through the hatch door of the crow's nest, looking around the room. The first thing he did was drape a blanket over the full-body mirror that was in the room. "There now, no more of that from happening," he said aloud as he walked over to one of the walls and began to get comfortable. "Of what from happening?" Zoro turned to see that Usopp had climbed up through the hatch door. "Oh, uh, I accidentally scratched the mirrorand don't want anyone else to find out," said the swordsman as he tried to cover his bases. Usopp seemed a bit skeptical at first, and why shouldn't he? Zoro is trying to lie to the World's Biggest Liar, in his opinion. Usopp shrugged it off and said, "Just don't let Nami find out, or she'll charge you ridiculous amounts for it." Zoro laughed at that statement which got Usopp to laugh as well. "You're right about that Usopp." It had been a while since Zoro had last laughed like that. "Oi, Usopp," said the swordsman as he looked at his long-nosed companion. "What is it, Zoro?" The swordsman cleared his throat before he spoke again. "I wanted to apologize for what happened earlier."

Usopp was taken aghast at this revelation of his comrade. Here was a man that he had seen take on a whole squadron of marines with little remorse or fighting at severe disadvantages to overcome them with his pure badassness, saying words with such of an emotion that took him back a bit. "Oi, oi, oi, Zoro. What's up with this all of a sudden?" Zoro smiled as he watched Usopp trying not to overreact to his statement. He pulled out a bottle of rum he kept hidden behind one of his weights and took a swig, passing the bottle to Usopp. "I respect you Usopp. Not just as a nakama, but as a fighter as well. Remember when you took on Luffy at Water-7? That took balls, and I respect that." Usopp grabbed the bottle from his green-haired compatriot. "Yeah, I guess I am," he said as he took a swig as well.

The two began to reminisce on the days of the past, from their first encounter with each other in Syrup Village to their various other adventures. Time passed and rum dwindled, leaving the two men ready for sleep. Usopp made his way to the hatch door, making a straight line look harder to walk than it actually is. As Usopp was about to start his way down, Zoro stopped him with a question. "Oi Usopp. How are things with you and that girl from your village?" Usopp looked back at him with a smile on his face and spoke with a slurred speech. "It's never been better. She's getting healthier and enjoys my letters. She shares my stories with Carrot, Pepper, and Onion. She misses me dearly, but our love for each other has given me the strength to keep going." The men said their pleasantries as the sniper made his way down, leaving the swordsman alone to sleep with a smile on his face.

Unfortunately for the swordsman, his sleep is about to take a turn for the worst. His sleep started off as a blank slate, as they usually are. Soon, whispers began to leak into his subconscious, opening up the memories of earlier in the evening. His mind began to replay the conversation he had with Robin, only to be interrupted by the gang. His mind began to go through each of the hits and strikes made by both them and the gang as the memory went to its inevitable end where Zoro blacked out and the darkness took over. There was a pause in the dream as the evil voice from earlier rang out all around Zoro in his dream world.

"**Roronoa Zoro. Care To See What Happened When You Body Became Mine For That Brief Moment Of Time?" **Zoro looked up from underneath the gang of men who were frozen in time of this moment of his memory to see an amorphous shadow reach out and grab him by the shirt. He pulled the green-haired man out from underneath and took his place, taking his form as well. Once the switch was complete, Zoro watched in horror as this evil form of the swordsman began to nearly kill everyone. All the while the only words that Zoro could say were "No" and "Stop it." He watched as the evil form walked over towards the gang leader, prepared to strike him down. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" The mighty command from the swordsman echoed throughout the dreamland, shattering it into more images from their last encounter. **"Look Here. All Of This Power And Strength. This Could Be Yours. The Whole WORLD Could Be Yours. Join Me And You Will Know True Strength."**

"_True strength?"_ This question popped into Zoro's head as he began to ponder the offer. He then began to remember his test of resolve to Robin and the phrase by Usopp just just before he left. _"...our love for each other has given me the strength..."_ Zoro looked down at his swords and back up towards the evil darkness that had offered him power and strength. He drew Wado Ichimonji and stood in defiance of the sinister apparition. "Sorry, but I prefer to get strength and power on my own accord. My friends and I will defeat you," said the swordsman with a sheer sound of confidence and determination backing it up. His white sword shone, causing pain to the darkness, with its screams resonating throughout the dream. **"You May Have The Eight Flowers And The Harmonious Path, But We Will Succeed. Our Forces Are Growing, And You Will See The Strength Of The Darkness Soon."** With the last words of the darkness ringing in his ears, Zoro awoke from his slumber to see his hand clutching onto the hilt of the white sword still in its sheath. "We have the Eight Flowers? Harmonious Path? Gotta tell Robin."

With his memory of the dream fresh in his head, he hurriedly made his way to the hatch and leaped down to the deck. The swordsman looked up into the sky to see the sun's placement. "It looks to be about nine in the morning, so everyone should be in the kitchen area," he said aloud as he made his deductions. His deductions were correct as he saw the whole crew in the kitchen; Sanji was cooking the food while the rest were eating his creations. He scanned the table to locate the archaeologist and tell her what had happened. Locating the raven-haired woman was the easy part. Getting to the seat was the hard part. After dodging the various limbs and food caused by the captain, Zoro managed to grab a seat near Robin. "Oi, Robin. I have something to tell you about our situation," said the swordsman in a low tone that would hopefully go unnoticed. Nami's ear perked up a bit about the phrasing of the question, but she decided to wait a bit before asking it. "Alright then, Kenshi-san. I've got some stuff show you as well," said the archaeologist as the two finished eating their food and made their way towards the library.

The two make their way to the library and begin to discuss what they have discovered. Zoro recalled what the demonic darkness said to him. "It said we already have the Eight Flowers, and there was something about a 'Harmonious Path.' What the hell is it talking about, Robin?" The swordsman was trying to recall what the Flowers were from the discovery last night and trying to see how a walkway fit into this whole thing. Robin's intellect kicked in when she heard "Harmonious Path" and recalled what Zoro said about his dream. She went over to a book on swords that matched that of Sergeant-Major Tashigi from the encounter with the swordsman back at Loguetown. Robin flipped through the pages to find the page about Zoro's white sword. "Here it is. Wado Ichimonji. One of the 21 O Wazamono swords. Name translation: 'Straight Road of the Harmony.' Looks like we found another piece," said Robin as she set down her book. The light bulb went off in Zoro's head as he made the connection. "That's why it screamed out in pain. I unsheathed Wado in the dream, and it began to shine."

As Robin made her way back to the desk with Zoro and the rubbings, she asked, "Kenshi-san, do you notice anything in particular about the pictures beneath those words from that flower-shaped design we discovered last night?" Zoro looked over at the paper copy of the ruin wall. As his eyes began to look over it, he began to see some images that didn't seem to fit. The items that appeared near these names were, in the order that Robin wrote down previously: A music note, a cigarette, meat, a slingshot, a bottle, a hat, and an orange. Upon looking at these he figured out what they were. "The crew are the remaining Flowers?"

Robin made her way to being beside Zoro to overlook the picture as well. "Yes, it would appear so. It also looks like this pattern that it was drawn in is some type of ritual or something, but I can't tell for sure unless we return back there," said the archaeologist as she looked up at the swordsman. The phrases and thoughts of last night inexplicably came across her mind, causing her to blush once more. She turned quickly to prevent the swordsman from looking at her face. She began to talk again, hoping that would take her mind off of the mental imagery. "I think we should take this data over to the lady who watches over the ruins. She might know more about this and where we can search for more information regarding this ritual." As she stood up to walk away, Zoro stood up as well, posing the question, "Should we tell the crew? This shows that they are a part of this as well." Robin, having regained her composure, turned around and faced Zoro, responding with, "We'll let them know once we receive more information ourselves."

The two of them leave from the library as the orange-haired navigator watches them. "Oh, looks like you two are getting awfully close, huh?" The duo turn to see Nami as she made her mischievous face, insinuating something between the pair. Zoro began to get frustrated with this as Robin turned a bit to hide her redness. "Why does everyone think we are together? Yes, she is a woman, and I am a man. That doesn't mean we're dating or anything," ranted the swordsman as Robin calmed herself down. "Kenshi-san is helping me with a project. I need the extra strength and protection that he can provide in order to research more of the ruins. By the way, how long until the log pose resets, Nami-san? I'd like to know how much time we have for our expedition," said the raven-haired woman, creating a story for the recent closeness of the two. "Oh, umm...I believe someone in town said it would be about four days until we get our next point. Oh, that reminds me, I still need to chart this island," replied Nami as she turned and made her way to her map room. "Now, let's go Kenshi-san. We need to head out quickly and gather the information as soon as we can," said Robin as she led the way of the ship towards Mamiya's house.

Upon arriving to Mamiya's house, Robin knocked on the door and said "Mamiya-san, it's me. I need to ask you about some things in regards to the ruins." Mamiya made her way to the door. "Oh, well look who has returned. I was wondering when you wou...," she said as she opened the door to see Zoro standing right behind Robin. "It's Him! It's the Man of Roronoa!" The old lady ran back inside and grabbed a knife out of the kitchen, wielding it in front of her as if to keep Zoro at bay. The two enter the house with Robin trying to calm her down. "Mamiya-san, relax. He's still in control of himself. We need to know if you have information about a ritual featuring the Eight Flowers." Mamiya lowered the knife as she pondered the request of the archaeologist. "I'm sorry, but I have never heard of this ritual before. How did you come about this ritual?" The old lady placed the knife down on the counter as she awaited a response. "We found it on one of the covered walls at the ruins. We'd be more than happy to show you them. We need all of the help we can get in deciphering them," said the raven-haired woman. Mamiya agreed to the idea, grabbed her walking stick, and the trio left to make their way to the ruins.

They arrived at the ruins around noon as they begin to enter it. Zoro gets his first look inside the dilapidated building of the past and saw all of the detailed aspects of the drawings. As he looked around at the rest of the walls, Robin brought Mamiya to the wall with the ritual. As she brushed away the lichen and moss that covered more of the artwork, Mamiya got a better look at the drawings and writings that accompanied them. "It appears your theory was correct, Robin. This does say that there is a way to contain and defeat the dragon. 'The Eight Flowers along the Harmonious Path will vanquish the Tri-Fanged Dragon and save us all.' The design for the shape of the ritual also appears be composed of...," said the old lady as she squinted to look closer at the design. "It appears to be made of arms, Mamiya-san," said Robin as her findings are confirmed by Mamiya. "So, my arms, nakama, and his sword are the key to stopping this." Mamiya looked at Robin in confusion. "Your nakama? What do they have to do with this?" Robin turned to reply, "They are the remaining Flowers in the ritual."

Zoro looked closer at the imagery that featured The Man of Roronoa and The Maiden of the Flower. He was astounded by the similarities between these two of the past and their current incarnations. He continued to look across the various walls, coming across one image of the original Maiden and the original Dragon man in each others arms kissing one another. He blushed a bit at the sight, due to the similarity between the two sets. He turned his head to replace that image with another, allowing him to discover something new. "Oi, Robin, old lady. Come take a look at this," he said as his arm gestured them to come.

Robin and Mamiya went over to the wall the Zoro was motioning towards. "What is it, Kenshi-san?" Zoro pointed towards the picture of the Man of Roronoa. "There's something wrong here. In this picture, I'm not holding Wado. I'm holding another sword. The Maiden is holding onto Wado in this image over here," said the swordsman as he pointed out this fact. Before he could form another sentence, a sharp pain ran through his body, causing him to scream as he collapsed to the ground. The scales multiplied once more underneath his shirt, quadrupling from sixty-four to two hundred fifty-six. Robin ran over and positioned him up against a wall, saying, "Kenshi-san, what's wrong?" Before a response could be uttered, several sinister howls rang out in the distance. Mamiya had a look of confusion on her face as she held up her stick to defend her out of fear. The raven-haired woman turned to the old woman and asked, "Mamiya-san, are there wolves on this island?" Mamiya was more confused and left Robin in a state of confusion when she replied, "What are wolves?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: A Challenger Arises & The Word Is Out**

On the opposite side of the island from the docks, there exists a cave that is the hideout for the Wanizame No Gairo Gang. This group of individuals were a bunch of local punks who were looked down upon for their annoying attempts to be tough. They were your local group of ruffians who would swipe food from market carts and start the usual bar fight, often losing. They had tried to make a name for themselves by trying to collect the heads of Zoro and Robin. Unfortunately for them, they chose the wrong time to do so and suffered dearly.

Their leader, Miyakuro, returned with his younger brother, the now hand-less Yanshiro. Even as the figurehead for his gang, the red-headed man was a sympathetic one as he went around, looking over his injured members and treating them the best that he could. While going over each of his comrades, his anger kept growing and growing until he arrived back to his brother. "That's it! I can't stand it any more," said the leader as he turned to face all of his men. "I'm sorry you all got hurt because of my idea, but we have to strike back at Roronoa Zoro and the rest of the Straw Hats and get revenge for what he did to us, to what he's done to Yanshiro."

Yanshiro looked up towards his brother, attempting to stand without the counterbalancing aspect that arms and hands would provide. "Miya-kun, calm down. We didn't stand a chance against one of them. What good is taking on all nine of them?" Miyakuro looked at his brother with a look of disbelief on his face. "You don't think we can do this? My own brother doubts me? What about the rest of you guys? Do you agree with Hiro-kun?" The members began to nod and raise the hands in agreement with Yanshiro. In a flight of rage, Miyakuro picked up one of the clubs and threw it into the wall of the cave.

The club struck the wall hard, sending a hard echo throughout the cave as bits of the cave wall began to crumble from the spot. "What the fuck is that?" Miyakuro's statement lightly echoed off of the cave walls as he walked over to investigate the small hole he made. The remnants of a brick wall laid behind the cave, prompting him to pick up the club and continue to hit the wall. More and more rock fell as the hole grew to a size where he can walk through. He began to swing at the brick wall that laid behind it and soon was beyond the two walls. As the dust settled, Miyakuro brought a torch into the dark room to discover a chest in the center of the room wrapped in chains. Markings can be seen written across the top of the chest, but these old symbols are no longer used and only read by a certain old woman, her brother, and raven-haired archaeologist.

Miyakuro called out to his men, "Hey guys. I found a chest in here. Someone hand me a pipe or a crowbar so I can crack this baby open." A crowbar was handed to him through the hole connecting the two areas. He began to swing with all his might at the old rusted lock that held the chain around the chest. After several minutes of pounding away at the stubborn lock, the clinking of broken metal struck the floor as the chains were set free from the locked state. As he cleared the chains off of the top of the chest, he slipped the prying end in between the top and bottom of the chest and began to force open the top. Years upon years of rust held the two pieces together, but the young leader was able to separate the two.

As the top flew open, a dark smoke flowed out of the chest and enveloped the entire room, pouring out of the hole into the cave like a dense fog. Yanshiro and the others became frightened and grew concerned about their leader. "Miya-kun! Are you alright?" A couple of coughs pierce through the smoke as Miyakuro responds. "I'm fine guys. Looks like there's something in the chest," he said as his arms swatted the smoke out of line of sight with the inside of the chest. As the smoke began to settle, Miyakuro saw a sword lying across the length of the chest. He was disappointed that nothing else filled the inside of the chest, but an old sword can still fetch a good chunk of berri. He pick up the sword and attempted to pull it out, but it would not give way. He struggled as much as he could but was unable to unsheathe it. "Damn thing's rusted shut."

A pulse ran through the sword, causing Miyakuro to drop it on the ground as he scurried back in fear. _"What the hell was that? The sword just...just...I don't know what he hell it did,"_ he thought as he looked upon the fallen weapon. _**"Miyakuro,"**_ rang out a voice. Fear ran across his face as frantically looked from side to side. "Who said that? Who's there? How do you know my na...," he questioned as he continued to back away from the sword. _**"I Am Yamoniyo. I Am The Spirit Of This Sword Before You, The Zenmetsu Ichimonji. I Can Give You Great Power For You And Your Men,"**_ said the voice as it rang through his head. Miyakuro stood up and began to make his way to the sword cautiously as he questioned the sword, "Power?" _**"Yes, Miyakuro. Immense Power. Enough To Do Whatever You Desire."**_ "Even revenge?" _**"Especially Revenge. All You Need To Do Is Help Me In Capturing The One Known As Roronoa Zoro, And You Will Have Your Revenge."**_ Miyakuro bent down and picked up the sword, saying," Alright then. I accept your offer. The Wanizame No Gairo Gang will be unstoppable!" _**"Good. Now Unsheathe The Sword, And You'll Have Your Power,"**_ said the voice as he drew the sword from its sheath with great ease.

A shock went through his body as dark smoke began to leak from the sword and slide under his clothes and his skin. He let out screams of agony as the darkness began to crawl beneath his flesh and crack his bones, advancing towards his head. His screams rang throughout the cave, causing his gang to back away from the hole out of fear. The malevolent smoke began to change his physique, causing his red hair to have streaks of black appear throughout it, and his skin began to spikes appear around his knuckles and elbows. His clothes became jet black as his eyes changed to a foul and horrifying blood red. "Miya-kun. MIYA-KUN! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO SEE WHAT"S HAPPENING TO HIM! MIYA-KUN!" Yanshiro was trying to get closer to the hole to see what was happening to his brother, but the rest of the gang was holding him back.

As Yanshiro continued to struggle, the red eyes pierced through the dark void of the hole as Miyakuro made his way back into the cave. "Miya-kun? Is that really you?" His brother was at a loss for words as he tried to figure if this was his brother. "Yes, Hiro-kun. It's me," said the darkness-infused brother of Yanshiro as he cracked his neck. "Are you okay, bro? We heard you screaming your lungs out," his brother questioned as he moved closer to this new version of his brother. "Never better. With this power, we can now start our revenge against the Straw Hats and the reign of the Wanizame No Gairo Gang shall begin," said the leader of the gang as he held his hand out towards the cave entrance. Dark smoke poured from his hands and began to form into wolves with jet black fur and malicious red eyes. "Go my pack, capture Roronoa Zoro, and kill anyone near him," said Miyakuro as the wolves growled and turned to make their way towards the ruins, releasing howls of doom as they ran.

Zoro gasped for breath as the pain ravaged his body while Robin and Mamiya looked on, powerless to stop it. As the howls grew closer, Mamiya cowered back into the corner as she heard the sound of a creature she had never known to exist. "Wha-wha-what are wolves?" Robin looked over at the old lady as she tried to snap Zoro out of his pain. "They are a dog-like creature that are known for their ferocity. We need to get out of here," said the archaeologist as she went to calm down the old woman and set her in the corner. She turned back to see that they were no longer alone, as several pairs of red eyes began to stare them down. Five wolves looked down to see the green-haired swordsman collapsed on the ground before looking back up to the two women, snapping the jaws and growling.

As Robin tried to edge closer to pull Zoro out of the way, one of the wolves jumped between the two, growling at the raven-haired woman. Zoro winced in pain as Robin looked upon him with a look of concern. She looked at the wolf sternly that stood between the two, saying to it, "Move out of the way before I force you to." The wolf stared more intently at the woman, as if he understood her and challenged her. "Fine then, but you had your chance," Robin said as she pulled her hat down, giving her appearance a more defined look of resilience. The wolf leaped at the woman only to be stopped by a barrage of arms. "Dieciséis Fleur: Snare," said the archaeologist as sixteen arms grew from the ceiling and floor, catching the beast in mid-air. It attempted to lunge forward and continued to snap its mouth, but it wasn't going anywhere. Robin stared at the creature with the same intensity that it was showing her as she said the final command. "Clutch." The sound of the wolf's spine and neck snapping echoed through the ruins as its lifeless body was thrown out through the way it entered. She stared at the remaining eyes that watched her kill her comrade. "Now go," said the woman as a chord of anger and fearlessness rang in her voice.

The pack of wolves leaped through the hole, attacking the arms as Robin continued to fight and defend herself and Mamiya. The wolves snapped and clawed at the arms, with each attack leaving marks on the true arms of Robin. As the fight carried on, Robin called out, "Kenshi-san," as she continued to hold the wolves of the best that she could. As she took more and more damage, the arms would dissipate, forcing her to expend more energy to grow more in their place. She gave her arms a break by growing legs so as to kick the impending pack. They continued to attack her legs, causing the subsequent marks to appear on her legs. Robin grew weary from sprouting limb after limb and ran out of energy to sprout any further. As the wolves grouped back up into a pack, they began to walk slowly towards the two women who were huddled in the corner. As the wolves grew closer to them, Robin began to think about Zoro. She had no idea as to why, but the thought of Zoro passed through her head as the memory of last night came forward with his cocky smile and flair. _"Satisfied? I...we will defeat this."_ Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at the down swordsman and let out a scream she thought would be her last. "ZOORRROOOOooooooooo!"

The wolf in the center of the pack leaped forward but was stopped suddenly like the first one that tried. The others looked around to see that no arms had appeared, but they saw a hand on the tail of the leaping wolf. Zoro had managed to return from his state of pain and stop the wolves from inflicting their death blow on the two women. With a swift motion, the green-haired swordsman swung his arm with the wolf in its grasp and slammed it into the ground as if it were a hammer pounding upon a nail. As the wolf bounced from the force of it, Zoro let it go only to give it a prompt kick out of the ruins. He turned to see the remaining three wolves in the ruins. "You want them, you're gonna have to deal with me first," said the swordsman as he panted. His body had not yet recovered fully from the pain, but he knew that he had to protect Robin and the old lady. The remaining wolves all leaped at Zoro as he began to dodge them using one of his moves that best fit the situation, Toro Nagashi (Sword Wolf Floating.) As he continued to dodge, he would attack the wolves with powerful grabs and punches. By the end of it all, Zoro stood atop three lifeless bodies, gasping for air.

"Robin," Zoro said as he went over to the injured archaeologist. Robin looked up at the swordsman as she tried to dry her eyes. "Oi, what's with the tears, Robin? I haven't let you down so far, have I?" The green-haired man held out his arm as he looked to assist the raven-haired woman to her feet. Robin attempted to stand, but her injured legs didn't allow much strength. "Looks like I spent too much energy during the fight," she said as she faltered from her lack of stability and leaned onto the swordsman. "It's alright. You fought hard. I'll give you a lift back," he said to the archaeologist as he turned his head towards Mamiya and said, "Oi, old lady. We are heading back to the ship. Are you good enough to make it there?" "I'll manage. You carry your lady back," said the old woman as Zoro eyebrow twitched. He looked down at Robin and said, "Why does everyone think we're together?" Robin chuckled as the swordsman picked her up and they made their way back to the ship, not knowing that a sixth wolf hid in the darkness and began to follow them.

The trio of Zoro, Robin, and Mamiya arrived at the Sunny around three, courtesy of the assault by the wolves and Zoro lack of navigation. Zoro jumped aboard the ship as Mamiya took the ramp from the dock, where they encountered Chopper once again with him saying, "Oh, hi you guys. Who's the old lady?" The diminutive doctor walking towards the old lady. "That tanuki just talked?" Mamiya was caught off guard by the reindeer doctor. Chopper grew to his human form, shouting "I'm not a tanuki. I'm a reindeer-man." After his bit of shouting, he noticed that Robin was being carried by Zoro and saw the reasons for it. "AAAAAaaaahh! Robin's hurt! We need a doctor," said the reindeer as he reverted to his half-half form running around. "Oi, you are the doctor, you idiot," said Zoro as was his usual response when Chopper forgot his role.

Upon hearing the phrase 'Robin's hurt,' Sanji dashed out of the kitchen and onto the deck. "What? Robin-chan is hurt?" The cook was looking at the archaeologist intently as Chopper began to assess her wounds. Sanji turned towards the swordsman who didn't appeared to be scratched, yelling, "OI, SHITTY MARIMO! HOW COULD YOU LET ROBIN-CHAN GET HURT THIS BADLY?" Zoro stood up as he looked at the cook, glancing his eyes towards Robin. "I'M TALKING TO YOU, YOU SHITTY SWORDSMAN!" The cook was not letting up on Zoro, as he never let up on anyone who would or allow a woman to be hurt. Zoro looked back at the cook and said, "Oi, I didn't let her get hurt, okay?" The cook wasn't hearing it though, as he began to assault the swordsman with his usual barrage of kicks but with more force due to the woman's injuries. "LIKE HELL YOU DIDN'T, YOU SHITTY EXCUSE FOR A MAN!" Sanji's kicks were unrelenting and fast as Zoro could only dodge, knowing that him drawing a sword could be a detrimental mistake.

As Sanji continued to shout and kick at Zoro, members of the crew began to appear through the various doorways of the ship. As all of the crew stood on deck to watch the fight, Sanji went for a kick to the swordsman's stomach, but Zoro dodged the blond cook's kick. However, the fatigue from earlier managed to get the best of him, as his shirt was caught by the kicker's foot, tearing out the center of shirt. Zoro stood up from the kick, knowing that it hadn't hit him, but he did not realize what had been done. "What the hell is going on Swordsman? He's got some kind of upgrade to his stomach," said the blue-haired cyborg. Zoro looked down to see that his scale-covered stomach was in complete view of everyone. Mamiya stood back in horror as she saw the scales for the first time. _"He's already been marked. Let's pray that this ritual works, or else I'll have to kill him,"_ she thought as she contemplated the immediate future.

As the crew gathered around Robin, Zoro, and Mamiya, the trio began to reveal what was going on with the crew's first mate. While the crew is being told of the various details and discoveries made by the trio, Chopper continued to address Robin's wounds while also providing medicines for the chronic ailments of the old woman Mamiya. Luffy looked intently at the trio as well as the scales. _"The scales are so cool, but they are bad. But they are cool, but they are bad,"_ the young captain thought as his mind battled with the idea of having scales on his body too. _"I wouldn't have to worry about being cut anymore,"_ he thought as he pictured him standing triumphantly on top of hundreds of swordsmen. Luffy was brought back to reality when he saw the look on the swordsman's face; he was trying to play it tough, but he was really struggling to keep up the facade. Luffy stood up and faced his crew saying, "Alright everyone. We need to do this for the sake of our nakama. Zoro has always been there for us, so we need to be there for him. So how does this mystery party happen?" Everyone let out a sigh of disbelief as Luffy still didn't understand the ritual. As the crew tried to bring their simple-minded captain up to speed, the wolf that had hid in the shadows for the entire event left from the side of the ship and began to head back to the cave, ready to give Miyakuro all the information he needed.

**Key Terms**

Wanizame No Gairo = loosely translates to Sharks of the Street (Street Sharks)

Zenmetsu Ichimonji = Straight Road of Destruction


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Sunny Is Now The Target**

The wolf had stealthily weaved its way through the back alleys and side streets as it returned to the cave where Miyakuro and his gang waited. As the lone wolf walked into the cave, a look of displeasure came across the faces of the gang. "Damn. Those things couldn't bring him back," said several of the members as their leader looked at the wolf with a grin. "Good job," he said as the wolf began to walk over to the dark leader. "What do you mean by that Miya-kun? They failed," said Yanshiro as the wolf walked by him on his way to his master. "I knew that the wolves wouldn't stand a chance against Zoro, but this was a good way for information gathering," said Miyakuro as he placed his hand onto the wolf's forehead. An aura of darkness connected the two as the sensory information passed from the wolf into the leader, allowing him to see and hear all that happened. As the transfer was complete, the aura dissipated as he withdrew his hand from the creature's forehead.

Miyakuro was getting ready to make an announcement to assault the Straw Hats when Zenmetsu Ichimonji pulsated in his hand that rested on it. _**"We Must Stop Them, Or They Will Take Your Power,"**_ said Yamonijo as it spoke within Miyakuro's mind. _"I was getting ready to do that before you stopped me,"_ replied the gang leader. _**"No, You Mustn't Go. If You Were To Get Captured, It Would Assure Your Demise."**__ "Hmmm, you've got a point, but how are we supposed to stop them if we can't go?" __**"Your Men Can Go And Fight."**__ "What? That's crazy! All of us couldn't take out Zoro, and you want them to attack his whole crew? They don't stand a chance." __**"You Forget. This Power That You Have Can Be Shared To Your Comrades. They Will Become Indestructible."**__ "Really? That's awesome! Alright then, let's do it,"_ Miyakuro responded as the mental conversation ended between the two. "Alright guys, we begin our assault on the Straw Hats. We will destroy the Straw Hats and capture Roronoa Zoro," he said to he turned towards his gang.

The men looked at their leader with confusion as they responded with disbelief. They brought up the same points that Miyakuro had brought up with Yamonijo during their conversation. "I know men. I brought this up as well, but we have something now that we didn't have then: POWER! I am offering you guys the same power that flows through me. With this new power of our, we will be unstoppable! So, what do you say? Take this power and we'll crush the Straw Hats," said the gang leader as he held out Zenmetsu parallel to the ground. "Just grab onto Zenmetsu, and this power will be yours too." As night began to creep across the sky, the first of the gang members stepped forward. "What the hell? Boss has never steered us wrong before. I'm in," he said as he grabbed onto the extended sword of his leader. "It's going to hurt for a bit, but the reward is worth the pain," Miyakuro said as the dark aura flowed from Zenmetsu into his gang member.

Everyone watched as their comrade fell to the ground, writhing in pain as the darkness went to work on changing him. After the process was complete, the newly-powered member stood up. The hesitant gang members asked their fellow member, "Are you alright, dude?" He looked at them with his red-tinted eyes saying, "Guys, I'm better than alright. The Power is awesome! It hurt for a moment, but guys, this power is fantastic," he said as he walked over and landed a punch on a stalagmite that crumbled it into tiny bits of rock. With that piece of motivation, the gang members lined up one by one, eagerly grabbing onto the sheathe of their leader's sword and becoming infused with the darkness. The screams of the men echoed throughout the cave, causing it to shake a bit from the noise. As the screams of pain died down, they were replaced with screams of power as the men began to do feats of strength they would have never done. Some were bending their pipes and crowbars, lifting heavy stones with great ease, ripping their chains to pieces, and crushing stones into dust, all with their bare hands.

Miyakuro saw that the only one not to walk up to him was his own brother. He walked over to see his brother still sitting where was. "What's the matter, Hiro-kun? Why haven't you come up to me yet brother?" Miyakuro crouched by his brother as he went to look him in the eyes awaiting his response. "I'll stay behind brother. I can't do anything now that I have no hands and all," said the somber Yanshiro as he looked upon his brother. Miyakuro placed his hand onto his brother's shoulder and smiled. "Brother, with this power, you can fight and so much more," he said as the dark aura traversed from Zenmetsu through his arm and into his brother's shoulder. "Just relax brother. Let it flow through you."

The darkness began to augment Yanshiro even more so than his fellow members. His body began to grow reaching up to the ceiling of the cave as he let out cries of pain from the stretching of his physique. After all was said and done, Yanshiro looked down to see his brother, but he still had no hands of his own. As Yanshiro was about to tell his brother off, Miyakuro cut him off. "Hiro-kun, don't worry. You will have your hands now," said the older brother as he stretched out his arm towards a pile of the crushed rock and destroyed pieces of metal. A cloud of darkness reached out from his palm, latching onto the targeted rocks and metal. "Now hold out your arms, my dear brother," he said as Yanshiro complied confusedly. Miyakuro swung the materials into his brother's stumps; the material began to mold and meld into hands of stone with knuckles made from the pieces of chain and pipe. Yanshiro was in disbelief as he wiggled each of the fingers individually. The gang saw and cheered for their fallen comrade who had returned to the fight once more. As the men cheered, Miyakuro turned towards them, saying "Now go, Wanizame no Gairo Gang! Take revenge on the Straw Hats, and bring back Roronoa Zoro!" As the gang roared with vigor on their way out, Miyakuro nodded at the wolf, causing the wolf to follow after them to once again observe and report.

After discussing about Zoro's condition and an early dinner, the Straw Hats began to set up the pattern for the ritual. Zoro stood in the center of the group as the remaining eight Straw Hats circled around him in the same pattern as written on the wall: Robin, Brook, Sanji, Luffy, Usopp, Franky, Chopper, and Nami. Robin held up her arms in her usual manner and said, "Cien Fleur." After being said, a hundred arms sprouted across the deck of the Sunny, setting a pattern that would allow one continuous path to everyone. "Alright everyone, we are about to begin. Kenshi-san, if you would be so kind to hand over your sword," said the raven-haired woman as she looked at the swordsman. Zoro's eyebrow twitched over the use of the nickname again as he thought, _"Why does she keep doing that?"_ He unfastened the sword from the belt and handed it to Robin.

As Wado left his hands, Zoro felt a surge of the dark energy again, but it wasn't taking over his body. _"What the hell is going on now? It's almost like I can sense the dark energy,"_ he thought as he walked back to the center of the circle. He turned back to face Robin, but he saw the archaeologist shrouded in a purple aura and the sword held it's own white aura. He turned to see if his other nakama were seeing what he was, but they were standing around like usual. He looked closer at his captain to see a light red aura surrounding him. He turned to see that the other crew members were surrounded by a faint aura as well, corresponding with the ruins. "Ok, I'm starting to believe now," muttered the swordsman under his breath. Robin looked over at Zoro hearing him mumbling and asked, "Did you say something, Kenshi-san?" His eyebrow twitched upon hearing the nickname again and replied, "I said, 'Ok, let's start this thing now.'"

As the swordsman stood in the center, Robin held onto the sword as she looked at the crew. "Alright everyone, let's begin," she said as she passed the sword to the first of the hands. The hands carried the sword to Luffy, to which he picked it up and passed it back to the arms. The sword was then passed to Chopper, followed by Brooke, Usopp, Nami, Sanji, Franky, and finally back to Robin. When the sword returned to Robin, she said, "Now everyone, grab onto the hands, and we'll finish the ritual," to which everyone complied. As they grabbed onto the arms nearest them, the arms near those arms all latched on as did the subsequent arms until they were all interlocked. "Triente Fleur, Cage," said Robin as thirty more arms grew from the arms closest to Zoro, interlocking with each other forming a cage around the swordsman.

After a minute of being in the cage of arms, Zoro was growing restless. "Was something supposed to happen? I don't feel any different," he said as the arms began to disperse into their usual petals. The swordsman walked over to the purple-hued archaeologist and held out his hand and asked, "Can I have my sword back now?" Robin nodded without reply, as she couldn't figure what went wrong. As the sword returned to its original owner, Zoro's vision returned to normal, with the hues fading away from his nakama. After he reattached it to his hip, he turned to the raven-haired woman and asked, "So what went wrong?" "I-I don't know," said Robin as she shot a look to Mamiya to see if the old woman knew what was lacking. Mamiya replied with a look of confusion. Robin walked over to the old woman and both retreated to the table that possessed their notes.

As the female duo began to scour their notes for what went wrong, Zoro began to think about what had happened. _"What was with that freaky aura around Robin and Wado? The rest of the crew had an aura too, but it wasn't as strong as Robin's. Is there something missing from them, or are we just too early in performing this ritual? This is frustrating,"_ thought the swordsman as rest of his nakama began to hypothesize about what went wrong as well. Some were legitimate, such as Brook's idea of needing a song or prayer or Chopper's idea of needing the flowers specified in the ruins. Others were just plain stupid, such as Luffy's idea of including meat or Franky's idea of including cola. Their chatter was silenced as Robin called out from the dining room, "Everyone come here. We found out what went wrong." The crew gathered into the room where Mamiya and Robin stood with their notes on the table between the two groups. "We discovered what was wrong," said Mamiya as she looked at them with a look of seriousness. "It turns out that Kenshi-san has to be the dragon for this to work. It won't work any other way," said Robin as she looked at the rubbings underneath her hands. "WHAT?" The general response from the crew nearly knocked the two women off of their feet.

As the crew settled down a quick moment and the night covering the sky, Zoro felt what could be described as a bolt of lightning pass through his body as he collapsed in pain. "Zoro!" The little doctor shouted as he ran over to assess the swordsman as he screamed in pain. Robin ran around the table to see what was wrong as well. "Kenshi-san, what's going on?" The question from the archaeologist fell on deaf ears as Zoro was out of contact with the area around him. _"What the hell is going on? It's that dark energy again. It's growing, like earlier with those wolves. I can hear...voices. They're coming closer. They're coming for us,"_ thought the swordsman as he continued to writhe in pain on the ground. "Everyone stand back. We need to give Zoro some room and air. It's along the lines of a seizure," said Chopper as he held his arms up to prevent anyone getting near him. As the swordsman screamed out in pain and contorted on the ground, his crew stood there, feelings of helplessness washed over their minds as they watched their nakama in pain.

Luffy had enough of this standing by, so he did what he usually did: intervene. He jumped over the doctor and picked up his first mate by the shoulder. His crew was stunned by the actions of their captain. "OI, ZORO! KNOCK IT OFF! WE CAN'T HELP YOU IF YOU KEEP THIS UP!" Not known for his delicateness, the captain shouted this order to his nakama as the crew watched. "You shitty gomu gomu bastard! That's not gonna work," Sanji said as he turned to see that Zoro was actually beginning to calm down a bit. Zoro opened his eyes to see his captain looking at him sternly. "Aye...aye...captain," said the swordsman as he panted in pain between each word. Luffy lowered him back to the ground as Chopper and Robin ran back to him. Zoro looked up at Robin and said in his gasping manner, "They're...coming."

"Who's coming? What do you mea...," began the inquisitive woman as she was cut off by the sounds of buildings collapsing in the distance. The crew all looked towards the doorway and began to head out to investigate the sound. Robin, not wanting to leave the side of Zoro, used her powers to grow an eye on the mast, so she could see the commotion as well. Smoke and dust began to bloom above the city's rooftops and grow closer to the docks. Robin could tell that trouble was brewing and coming after Zoro more than likely. "Mamiya, you stay here with Kenshi-san. I have to go out there. Make sure you lock the door behind me," she said as she lowered Zoro to the floor carefully. She closed the door to the room to which Mamiya complied with her last request, bolting the door close. As Robin made her way to the rest of her crew, she came across the sight of twenty-four figures shrouded in darkness as they made their way to the docks, screaming "Kill the Straw Hats! Capture Zoro!" "Alright," said the captain, "Looks like we're gonna be busy tonight."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Surviving The Night, The Straw Hats Hold Out Strong**

The newly-powered Wanizame no Gairo Gang started to climb aboard the Thousand Sunny as their chants, "Kill The Straw Hats," filled the air. This gang of darkness leaped on board the ship with the exception of Yanshiro, who was much slower than the rest of his gang members. As the gang jumped aboard, they were greeted by the fists and kicks of the Straw Hats' captain. As their bodies flew and crashed across the ship, they stood up as if they just tripped while walking. The remaining members of the Straw Hats began to contribute to the fighting effort as well. Unfortunately for the crew, this dark power was allowing the enemy to recover at extraordinary rates as well as enhanced their strength and defense. Kicks from the blond-haired chef that would usually put people in the hospital were only stunning them temporarily. Robin's paralyzing clutch was only hindering them for a brief moment. "Luffy, this is too much for us to handle on our own," cried out Nami as she tried to defend herself with the Perfect Clima-Tact.

"Alright guys, split up into teams of two, and let's beat these bastards," Luffy said as the crew began to pair off with people closest to them. "I'm on my way, Nami-sa...," said Sanji as he heard a thunderous thump behind him. He turned around to see Yanshiro climbing on board of the ship as Franky walked nearby. Yanshiro placed his hand on the banister, nearly crushing it between his rock fingers. "OI! You tall rock bastard! Don't you dare damage this ship," yelled the blue-haired man. "Oi, Franky," said Sanji as he turned towards the shipwright, "how about we take this one?" Franky cracked his knuckles with delight as he gave a cocky smile to the cook. "Sounds like a plan to me, Curly-brow." With that said, the two men began to wage battle against the giant Yanshiro.

Nami ran over toward Usopp as she was being chased by five of the gang members. "OI, NAMI! DON'T BRING THEM OVER HERE," yelled the long-nosed sniper as he began to run away, heading towards the front of the ship with Nami close behind him. "WHERE ELSE AM I SUPPOSED TO RUN? BESIDES, I HAVE A PLAN," yelled the orange-haired navigator as she began to twirl certain sections of the Perfect Clima-Tact. Usopp recognized the set-up of Nami's weapon and asked, "Oi, are you doing what I think you are?" Nami nodded in response to the question of her weapon's inventor. "Alright then Nami. I have something that we can do based on that. Keep setting it up while I halt our chasers," said Usopp as loaded up his slingshot, Kabuto. "Torimochi Boshi," hollered Usopp as he turned and jumped in the air, aiming his shots at the five chasers' feet. As the shots exploded, the contents spilled all over the opponents' feet, causing them to become stuck in place.

"What the hell is this shit? I can't move. My feet are stuck," said the men as they struggled to get their feet free. They looked back up to see Nami and Usopp, along with a chibi pair of Nami and Usopp, next to a muscular set of Nami and Usopp, who happened to be in between two other duos, a lanky version of Nami and Usopp and a fat version of Nami and Usopp. "What the hell is this devilry? I never heard of them having Devil Fruit powers," said one of the stuck members. "We don't have Devil Fruit powers, but you are messing with the wrong navigator. Mirage Tempo: Fata Morgana," said the orange-haired woman and her doppelgangers as she reassembled her Perfect Clima-Tact. "Mirage Tempo: Fata Morgana. So this is how it works. I'm impressed Nami. I never would have known that my invention could something like this, but I'm glad it does. If I figure correctly, like you said after your fight with Kalifa, this will work out fine," said the long-nosed sniper and his clones as they turned their attention towards the men. They pulled back on their Kabutos as they let out a mighty yell, "UsoNa Hissatsu Tenryu Bolt Tempo!" Five lightning dragons shot from the slingshots and struck their targets dead on, and they fell to the ground they were stuck to. As the mirage subsided, the duo worth forty-six million berri gave the thumbs up to each other.

"Deiciseis Fleur," said Robin as twenty arms grew out of the ground and latched onto the bodies of the eight enemies that wanted to corner Chopper and her near the mast. Chopper changed to his standard large form as he stood by Robin. "Clutch," said the raven-haired woman as her arms began to snap the bodies of their captives. "Wow Robin, that was amazi... AAAAAaaahhhh," said the reindeer-man as he watched the eight bodies stand back up. "That won't work on us anymore there, lady," one of the goons said as they began to realign their bodies into their original form. "What do we do Robin? WHAT DO WE DO?" Chopper was freaking out as Robin came up with an idea. "Chopper, use your Rumble Ball, and go into your Jumping Form," said the eighty million berri pirate as she added, "and when I tell you to, go into your Arm Form."

"They're called Jumping Point and Arm Point, Robin," said the fifty berri doctor as he pulled out a Rumble Ball. "Rumble," he said he chewed onto the ball of medicine. "Jumping Point," he exclaimed as his body modified from his Strong Point to his Jumping Point, shrinking down in size a bit and looking more like a bipedal, long-legged reindeer. As he jumped high into the air, the goons looked at the height he had achieved, saying "Look at that, he's running away." Robin crossed her arms in her usual pose and said, "He's not running away. He's setting up. Treinte Fleur: Vine," said the woman as thirty arms grew from the sail supporting beam of the main mast, grabbing a hold of the jumping Chopper. "Now Chopper," she said as the doctor nodded, calling out "Arm Point," and changing his form. As his body changed from it's sleek and slender form to a massive muscular-armed form, the arms began to swing him down at an angle as if he were a wrecking ball preparing to crash through a wall. "Roseo Vine Smash," hollered the doctor as he held out his arms, crashing through the octet of enemies, sending them overboard and crashing onto the dock.

Luffy and Brook teamed up together, as the two had never really worked with each other. "Oi, Brook. This is fun isn't it?" The captain had a grin on his face a mile wide as he usually does. The skeleton musician look over with his empty eye sockets and replied, "YOHOHOHOHOHOHO! It is quite fun, but it's tiring out my muscles. Oh wait, I don't have any muscles. SKULL JOKE! YOHOHOHOHOHOHO!" "Skull Joke," said the straw hat-wearing boy as he laughed along with his nakama and threw punches at the ten gang members that decided to take on the two pirates worth three-hundred-thirty-three million berri. As punches and sword strikes flew, the enemy was cast aside left and right, but they managed to get up every time they fell. "You can't defeat us, Straw Hat! We have this awesome power," said one of the ten members as he stood up from one of Luffy's punches.

"Hmmm, this is gonna be difficult," said Luffy as he stopped and did a serious pose for thinking. Brook looked to see his captain had stopped and yelled, "Luffy-san, don't stop in the middle of the fight to think!" As the gang members regrouped, an idea came to Luffy. "Oi, Brook. Remember when we fought that giant zombie and you threw me at him?" The afro-bearing skeleton looked back at his captain, replying "I believe so, but what does that have to do with...," but he was cut short by the captain grabbing onto his waist. "Luffy-san, what are you dooooooooooing?' The skeleton was flung behind Luffy while still being within his grasp over the edge of the ship. "Gomu Gomu Nooooooo," said the rubber man as he flung his arm forward towards the group of ten men. "HARPOOOOOOON!" He held out the skeleton as if he were a spear, as the sword-wielding straightened out, holding his sword inline with his body. Luffy reeled his arm back and launched him several more times, sending the opponents flying.

A punch came across the pirate chef's face, sending him crashing into the banister of the ship. "OI, YOU GIANT BASTARD! DON'T YOU DARE DAMAGE THIS SHIP," yelled the blue-haired shipwright as he ran up to Yanshiro and launched a punch at the giant's face. Yanshiro caught Franky's incoming fist, but as he did, a voice came from behind him. "Oi, you shitty tall bastard," said Sanji as he stood back up and continued, "I'm not done with you yet." With a quick foot shuffle, Sanji was behind Yanshiro and ready to land one of his signature kick, calling out "Épaule Shoot," driving his foot into Yanshiro's shoulder that belonged to the arm that was holding onto Franky. As Sanji jumped back from Yanshiro after landing the kick and Franky jumped back from him on the opposite side, the two men nodded at each other. The two men both ran towards the slightly dazed Yanshiro with Sanji aiming for the legs and Franky coming up towards the head. "FRrrrrrrrANJI HAMMER TOE SLICE," yelled the blue-haired man as the two men totaling one-hundred-twenty-one million berri landed their strikes, causing Yanshiro to spin in the air for a brief moment before crashing down on the deck.

"Alright. Way to go, Curly-brow," said Franky as he walked over to give a high five to the cook, only to have a rock and metal fist fly across his face. "Franky," exclaimed the cook as he watched his nakama fly across the ship. Franky stood up, dusted himself off, and replied, "Let's take this guy down." Sanji smiled as he lifted up his leg, telling the shipwright, "Hop on." Franky peeled the skin from his fists as he ran at the cook at full speed. He leaped onto Sanji's leg, allowing the cook to kick the blue-haired man into the threatening Yanshiro. "Armée de L'Air Berserker Shoot," said the blond-haired cook as he launched the cyborg into their opponent. Franky unleashed a barrage of punches upon the face and chest of the towering Yanshiro, as the two of them continued to fly away from the cook. As they flew into the Sunny's banister, Franky landed a strong uppercut, causing Yanshiro to soar over the railing and onto the deck. As his body crashed, Yanshiro broke through the aged planks of the dock, sinking into the depths of the bay. "Take that, you gigantic asshole," said the exhausted Franky as he walked back over to Sanji.

As the fights went on outside the cabin, Zoro sprawled across the ground, crying out in pain as Mamiya looked upon him helplessly. As his screams rang trough the locked room, the scales multiplied, increasing to one-thousand-fifty-four. As they grew, they reached to his right arm and made it to just beyond the edge of his sleeve. Mamiya gasped as she watched scales coming into her view on his arm. _"It's happening. I have to stop him from becoming the dragon,"_ the old woman thought as he grabbed a hold of her walking stick. She twisted the top portion slowly, unlocking a hidden knife in the stick itself. "I never thought I would ever have to use this knife, especially for this situation. But if you must know, it's for the safety of the whole world," she said as she made her way towards the writhing swordsman. She raised her knife-wielding arm up as she stood above his body. "I'm sorry," she said as she closed her eyes. She swung her arm down with the knife as hard as she could toward Zoro's heart.

Mamiya felt a stop on her swing, but she didn't feel like she went all the way down. She opened her eyes to discover that Zoro had caught the blade with his hand. As the grimace that had been on his face subsided, Zoro opened his eyes to see the face of a now frightened Mamiya. He let go of the blade as the old woman retreated to the corner in fear. As the swordsman begin to sit upright, he turned to the old woman. "Don't...worry...about...me," he said as he gasped between the words. He began to stand up with the aid of Wado Ichimonji, "I promised...her...that...I...would...beat this." He began to make his way to the locked door, and Mamiya responded to his action with, "What're you doing? We have to stay in here."

Zoro looked back at the old woman and replied, "I can feel...the dark energy...out there. They can't...beat it without...this," and he held up his sword. He held the scabbard in his right hand as he made his way to the door. "Get ready to...lock the door... behind me, so...you will...still be safe," he said as he motioned for her to come near. "Alright then," said Mamiya as she cautiously walked over to the door near the swordsman. As she unlatched and opened the door, Zoro took his first step out, still shaky from the pain as the twenty-four gang members had begun to climb back onto the ship to murder the now exhausted Straw Hat Pirates.

**Attack Names:**

Torimochi Boshi – Sticky Star

Mirage Tempo Fata Morgana – Mirage Tempo Fairy of Morgan le Fay (look up Fata Morgana itself)

Hissatsu Tenryu Bolt Tempo – Sure-kill Heavenly Dragon Bolt Tempo

Roseo Vine Smash – Cherry Blossom Vine Smash

Épaule Shoot – Shoulder Shoot

Armée de L'Air Berserker Shoot – Air Force Berserker Shoot


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: The White Sword Strikes! Zoro's Determination to Save His Nakama**

The heavy-breathing swordsman walk out to see his nakama tending to their wounds. "Zo-Zoro? What are you doing out here? You are in no condition to fight," said Chopper as he hurriedly made his rounds to his fellow crew mates, performing his duties as the ship's doctor. As the door bolted behind the swordsman, screams came from off the starboard side where the deck resided. As Usopp looked over to investigate the sounds, he saw that the various enemies that the crew had just sent over the side were now getting up and preparing to storm the ship once more. The long-nosed sniper screamed as he backed away from the rail. "Th-th-they're coming back, guys," shouted the scared Usopp as he collapsed behind the exhausted Nami.

Chopper looked worried as he heard the news of returning enemies. "WHAT? But nobody is in any condition to fight. Not even Luffy," he said as he was applying bandages to Sanji. "And, I'm all out of cola right now," said the blue-haired cyborg Franky as his pompadour hung over his face. Luffy looked at Chopper with an angry face and shout, "Oi, Chopper. What do you mean I can't fight? I'm still ready to take them on." Upon finishing his statement, the growl of Luffy's stomach made a louder boast to his condition as Luffy fell to the ground and said, "After I eat something though." "YOU'RE ALSO COVERED IN CUTS, YOU IDIOT," shouted the rest of the crew to their captain. As the crew settled down, they turned to see the blackened hands of the gang sprawl over the railing as they began their assault again.

As the legs of the foes began to make it over the rail, Zoro painfully hustled to be between the two groups. "Hurry...I'll take...care of them. Just...get going," he said as he turned to face his crew. "Kenshi-san, you can't do this. We'll hold them off," said Robin as she slowly began to stand up. The exhaustion from growing so many limbs during her recent series of fighting and ritual performance began to accrue. Zoro's eyebrow twitched as he heard that confounded nickname again. "THAT IS IT! CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I CAME OUT HERE TO UPHOLD MY PROMISE TO YOU, YOU DAFT WOMAN! AT LEAST GIVE ME THE COURTESY OF CALLING ME BY MY NAME WHEN I AM ACTUALLY ABLE TO LISTEN! NOW EVERYONE, GET BACK!" The scream of the angry swordsman caused the crew to look at the raven-haired woman as the oncoming foes wavered in their places for a bit. _"What was that? It felt like a wave of energy came from him,"_ thought the archaeologist as she nodded in compliance with the swordsman's request. "You think we are just gonna let you do that? Think again, you damn idiot," said one of the gang members as he leaped towards the crew with his weapon ready to taste the blood of the the ship's doctor. Chopper flinched as the goon's weapon came towards his head.

A clink of metal on metal sounded through the air as Chopper opened his eyes to see that Zoro had stepped between the two and blocked the assault on the small doctor. "Are you deaf Chopper? I said get back," yelled the swordsman as he swung his arm forward, sending the man flying back to his fellow gang members. "Z-zoro, your sword. It's glowing," said the reindeer as Zoro looked down at his blade to confirm his nakama's sight. A white aura seemed to emanate from the blade as it was free from it's sheathe. "What the hell is going on? No matter. No parlor trick like that is gonna stop us," said another goon as he too leaped towards the swordsman and attempted to cut him down. Zoro saw the man's attempt and took advantage of an opening he had left. "Taka Nami," hollered the skilled swordsman as his blade found the side of his foe, leaving a gash in his side. As his foe fell, he began to convulse on the ground, and the dark energy that had given him his strength began to leak out and attempt to heal the wound. "I see," said Robin as her keen, analytical eye caught the actions that transpired and shouted to the green-haired man, "Cut them with the sword. That's the only way to purge them of the dark power." "Yosh," said the swordsman as he struggled to tie his bandana across his head, shouting, "Who's next?"

"Get the swordsman. Kill the rest," shouted the gang members as they began to all run at the unwavering Zoro. Slash upon slash the swordsman threw as he dodged attacks and countered with his own. Every now and again, the gang members would occasionally land a hit or two with their clubs or chains. An exhausted Luffy turned to the rest of his crew and said, "Oi, we can't let Zoro take all of the fight. He needs our help, whatever we can lend." The captain readjusted his hat and began to make his way to the fight. The rest of the crew began to get up, as Chopper pointed out to them, "Take it easy guys. We can help, but don't push it." The crew began to aid the swordsman in the fight against the goons to the best of their ability.

Usopp launched his Chō Kemuri Boshi as a group all tried to pounce on Zoro, only to lose him in the dense smoke. This gave Zoro the perfect opportunity to strike back, dispatching four of the gang members. "Usopp? What are you doing? Get back before you get killed," said the swordsman as he looked at the long-nosed sniper. "Come now Zoro. You think you can have all of the fun," said Usopp as he had a smile come across his tired face, "Besides, the Great Captain Usopp would never let his nakama fight alone." Another gang member appeared through the smoke, causing the sniper to scream and cower backwards, shouting, "Zoro, HELP ME!" Zoro let out a smile and a sigh as he struck down Usopp's assailant. "Good job, Zoro. Just like I planned," said Usopp as he gave the swordsman a thumbs up. "Just up to higher ground and help me from there, you idiot," said the green-haired man as he turned back to the fight.

As the others continued to help out in their own ways, the number of foes dwindled from the original twenty-four down to only six. The Straw Hats managed to circle around the five that remained on deck, disarming them in the process. "We don't need those to get you, you bastards," said a member of the quintet as they all leaped at the the various members of the crew. Luffy grabbed a hold of one of the goon's feet and slammed him back into the deck. Brook blocked the attacker who leaped at Nami with his sword as Nami crashed her weapon into the gang member's head. Sanji dropped a goon with a standard ax kick, Franky gave a swift punch to another, and Chopper's Heavy Point sent the last on crashing onto the pile. The tired Zoro lined up to be in front of the pile of downed goons as he prepared to strike. "Sanjyu Roku Pound Hou," said the swordsman as he launched his flying blade attack at the five men, purging them of the dark energy that had consumed them.

"Alright, that should be the last of them," said the exhausted captain of the Straw Hats as his stomach growled for food. Chopper scratched his head as he said, "But we only beat twenty-three, and there were twenty-four of them. Where's the last o..." The doctor was cut short by the booming stomp from the giant Yanshiro as he leaped onto the deck of the ship. "Shit! Not this guy again," said the blond-haired cook as he proceeded to attack the newly approaching enemy, only to be batted aside by a swing of his arm. "Sanji-kun," shouted the orange-haired girl as she ran over to check on him.

As the rest of the crew began to retreat from the oncoming Yanshiro, Zoro stood his ground as he drew his sword once more. The bright glowing aura shone from the blade with more intensity than before. "Come on, you big bastard," shouted the swordsman as he began to charge the new enemy. Before he could get close, however, Yanshiro launched one of his rock fists at Zoro, grabbing hold of him and sent him crashing into the main mast of the ship. Zoro gasped for as as he spat out some blood, causing the reindeer doctor to scream out, "ZORO!" As the swordsman collapsed onto the deck, he looked up to see the towering opponent, raising his arms to deal the final blow.

"Treinte Fleur. Stretch." The voice of the archaeologist sounded off as thirty arms appeared on the large opponent, grabbing onto his limbs and stretching him out. Zoro looked over to see an exhausted Robin holding her pose as she looked back at the swordsman. "Hurry...and get up... Zoro. Finish him...off. I can't...hold him much...longer," panted the raven-haired woman as Zoro lifted himself back up to his feet with the scabbard of his sword. He sheathed his sword as the swordsman went into another stance. "Hurry Zoro. Finish him quickly," said Robin as several of her arms began to disappear from Yanshiro's body. Zoro took a deep breath in as he achieved his stance. "Ittoryu Iai," he said as he performed his technique, drawing the blade and sheathing it once more as a bright flash was all that could be seen between. "Shishi Sonson," he stated as he clinked the hand guard against the scabbard, which appeared to be the cue for Yanshiro to collapse with a big slash across his chest.

As the darkness drained from the fallen Yanshiro and his fists began to return to being regular rocks and bits of metal, Zoro fell to one of his knees and was about to crash into the ground, but he was caught in the actual arms of Robin. "So,...it had...to take a...giant freak...for you to...say...my name," said the swordsman as he panted and chuckled at the archaeologist that held him up. Robin just smiled as she looked for the tiny doctor to come take a look. "Over here, Chopper," she said as the reindeer finished treating the previously injured Sanji from his wounds dealt by the same foe. As the doctor began to treat the injured swordsman and archaeologist, the wolf that lingered in the background retreated to the cave to deliver the events that transpired to the awaiting Miyakuro as the sun began to break the horizon and dawn approached.

Dawn broke the horizon over the waters as Miyakuro watched it from the entrance of his gang's cave. As he awaited his members to return with Zoro and the heads of the Straw Hats, his mind began to wonder as ideas of the gang taking over the world with this new power of theirs. He chuckled at the prospect of the World Government trying to take them on but being destroyed by his gang. The gang leader was brought back to reality as he heard the steps of the wolf entering the cave. The wolf closed in on the awaiting Miyakuro as he looked and strained to hear the voices of his men.

"Where are the rest of them boy?" The question from Miyakuro was soon to be answered as the wolf walked up to the leader and sat down. Miyakuro proceeded to once again place his hand on the wolf's head to retrieve the information from the dark beast. He watched with glee as his men began to overrun the fight against the Straw Hats. His smile soon faded as he watched his men begun to fall at the hands and blade of Zoro. The rage began to flow through Miyakuro as he pulled his hand off of the wolf's head and began to destroy the walls and rocks that resided within the gang's hideout. "CURSE YOU, RORONOA ZORO," yelled the gang leader as his tirade on the hideout continued.

The threat of collapse caused Yamonijo to intervene to prevent being sealed away once more. **"Calm Yourself, Miyakuro,"** said the entity of darkness as it spoke to the rampaging man. "How can I be calm? All of my men, even my brother, has fallen at the hands of that fucking green-haired bastard and those damn," shouted the angry Miyakuro as he began to settle down, though the rage in his voice was evident. A swift kick from his legs sent a large stalagmite skipping across the waters of the Grand Line. **"Then Do Something About It,"** said the evil voice. "What do you mean? You said not to go," said the confused Miyakuro as he settled down more. **"The Straw Hats and Roronoa Are All Weak Right Now After Fighting Our Power,**" Yamonijo said as he began to turn the gears in his host's mind. Miyakuro replied in response, "Yeah, and?" **"Now Is The Perfect Opportunity To Seek You Revenge And Win This Fight. You'll Will Become Unstoppable And Feared By All As the Man Who Single-Handedly Took Down The Straw Hat Pirates."** A malicious smile came across Miyakuro's face as ideas of power and notoriety filled his head. "Alright then. Look out Straw Hats. I'm coming for your heads," said the leader as he left the cave heading towards the docks.

**Attack Names:**

Taka Nami – Hawk Wave

Chō Kemuri Boshi – Super Sticky Star

Sanjyu Roku Pound Hou – 36 Pound Cannon or 36 Caliber Phoenix

Ittoryu Iai: Shishi Sonson – Single Swordstyle Re-sheathing Technique: Lion's Song


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: The Two Swords Clash! Zoro Vs. Miyakuro**

The dawn began to break as the Straw Hats celebrated their victory by enjoying an early breakfast. As the blond-haired chef brought out the dishes one by one, the ship's doctor made his rounds to everyone, applying bandages and taping them down. The food and treatments made their way around the crew until the last person, Zoro, was treated. The crew began to eat their food and drink slowly as the soreness from the night's activities were still there. "You have a couple cracked ribs Zoro, so no more hero stuff," said the pink hat-wearing doctor as he wrapped the swordsman's chest in tape. "Chopper, stop that. I can't move if I'm taped up like that," said the green-haired man as grew weary of the taping. "THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF THE TAPE, YOU DUMBASS," responded the doctor as Robin chuckled at the whole conversation.

The crew were too busy laughing and eating their food to notice the gang leader had arrived to their ship. Zoro was the first to notice the arrival on Miyakuro as he turned and saw the leader standing on one of Sunny's spiked hairs. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the infamous Straw Hat Pirates," said the ship's uninvited guest as his eyes caught the sight of his brother Yanshiro splayed on the deck. That sight caused him to become enraged as he looked back at the crew and yelled, "You all will PAY for what you've done!" With that being said, the angry gang leader leaped towards the crew, prepared to exact his revenge for his brother. The Straw Hats responded in their standard fashion, launching their own attack. Robin set Zoro down and said, "Wait right here, Zoro," before she went to assist the rest of her nakama. "Wait Robin, you guys can't...," he said as he tried to stand up, but the aches and pains from the fight with the gang earlier were keeping him grounded.

The crew and Miyakuro collided on the front portion of the deck, and Miyakuro has the distinct advantage, regardless of the numbers. Luffy launched the first attacked, "Gomu Gomu No Pistol," but Miyakuro dodged it quickly and landed a punch in the captain's gut, sending him flying towards the rear of the ship. The blue-haired shipwright removed the skin from his left hand and threw his punch, "Strrrrong HAMMER." The fist looked to have connected, however it was caught in the invader's left hand as well. He lifted up the cyborg with his one hand and tossed him at one of the ships also docked at the harbor.

"This power is incredible," said Miyakuro as he looked at his hands and grinned with delight. He looked back up to see Chopper in Arm Point right in his face and used his attack, "Kokutei ROSEOOoooo." The move connected with great force, causing a blast of air to go across the grass that covered the ship's deck. Chopper stood there and thought, _"Alright, I landed a direct hit,"_ but his hopes of victory were dashed as he saw that Miyakuro was still standing in place. "Is that best you have, you piece of shit?" The question caught Chopper by surprise as Miyakuro threw a punch at the ship's doctor. Chopper changed to his Guard Point before the punched connected with him, but the force of it was enough to launch him into the mast and knock him out, landing next to Zoro. The swordsman looked at the rest of the remaining crew and yelled, "You guys have to get out of here now. You can't win."

The swordsman's plea fell on deaf ears as the remaining five began to launch a group attack that would hopefully end this fight. Usopp started the attack by launching his attack, "Torimochi Boshi," leaving the sticky residue all over Miyakuro's feet. "Now Sanji, Nami," said the sniper as Sanji stood near the back end of the ship with Brook. " Everything ready, Nami-san," asked the love-struck Sanji as he looked at the navigator twirling her parts of the Perfect Clima-Tact, creating a small cloud. "Dark Cloud Tempo," she said as the final heat balls and cool balls flew to amass a small thundercloud. "You ready there, Brook," said the cook as he looked at the musician that was perched on his leg. "YOHOHOHOHOoooooo, let's do this, Sanji-san," said the skeleton as he held his cane sword ready. "Armée de L'Air Thunder Swallow Shoot," said the blond-haired man as he launched the skeleton through the awaiting dark cloud created that stood between the cook and the aggressive Miyakuro. The speed of the beyond belief, as the nearly weightless skeleton was flung at full force through the cloud and becoming electrically charged by the lightning that resided within it as he flew straight towards the stuck Miyakuro.

It was almost impossible to to dodge from something traveling at that speed, but Miyakuro was able to counter in time. The trapped gang leader drew out Zenmetsu Ichimonji, and he managed to block the high velocity musician. He deflected the flying skeleton, flinging him and his brandished blade back at the cook. Sanji managed to dodge the projectile Brook, leaving Brook to crash into the top of Nami's mikan trees. Sanji turned to look back at the opponent, only to find Miyakuro had set his sights on the navigator. He raised up his sword and through a slash across the deck of the ship, "Yami Nami." Nami stood terrified as the chivalrous yet lecherous cook leaped between her and the incoming attack. The force from the maneuver was enough to send the two of them crashing into the wall. "Sanji-san, Nami-san," rang out the archaeologist's voice as she ran over to see if there were alright.

With the sight of raven-haired woman coming into play, the sword pulsated as the grip on Zenmetsu tightened. A surge passed through Miyakuro as he began to change once more and screamed out in pain. Yamonijo began to take over Miyakuro completely as the sword wielder's body lost all of the red in his hair and his eyes, changing to jet black. As the changes occurred in Miyakuro, Zoro collapsed to the ground in pain as he looked up at the enemy. The black eyes stared at the woman as the sword was moved into a striking position. "ROBIN, get out of there NOW," yelled the green-haired man as Robin turned to see the possessed Miyakuro closing in. Her eyes widened as she was frozen in place, unable to move due to fear. **"Time For You To Die, Maiden Of Flower,"** said the assaulting evil as he prepared his attack. **"YAMI DAGEKI!"** Robin closed her eyes as she flinched at the incoming blade.

The sound of metal on metal caused the raven-haired woman to open her eyes, seeing Zoro holding off the attack. "You leave her alone," said Zoro as he conveyed a look of death at the enemy, looking similar to the look he shot Eneru after he attacked Robin back in Skypeia. The unsheathed Wado began to glow even brighter than before as it continued to hold off the encroaching Zenmetsu. The glow grew brighter still, causing Yamonijo to cry out in pain as he retreated back into the blade. The red began to return back to the eyes and hair of Miyakuro as he regained control of his body, allowing Zoro to push him back. "Are you okay, Robin," questioned Zoro as he looked back which Robin replied with a nod. "Good, now get back, and make sure the others are alright. This guy's mine," said the swordsman as he took his bandana from around his arm and put it on his head.

The swordsman faced his opponent, the now in-control Miyakuro, and pointed his sword at the man. "Leave now, and you'll be spared. If you stay, you will be defeated," said Zoro as he stood there, defying his injuries and exhaustion. "I'm not like the others you fought. You won't be able to defeat me so easily," replied Miyakuro as he prepared to fight back. Zoro stared back at the man as he raised his arm. Both men launched their flying slashes at each other. "Sanjyu Roku Pound Hou." "Yami Nami." As the two slashes collided in mid-air, the force sent out a shock wave, causing the grass to rustle and the mikan trees to sway. The ship rocked as the slashes began to subside, allowing the men to see each other once more. "I told you that I won't be that easy," said the cocky Miyakuro as he looked at the green-haired swordsman, but the first mate of the Straw Hats managed to vanish within the blink of an eye as Miyakuro was watching him. Zoro appeared behind his opponent and said, "This is a fight. No time for boasting," as he spun around, causing his sword to come into the side of Miyakuro and sent him flying into the banister.

"_That was too close. I almost didn't block that,"_ thought Miyakuro as he picked himself up. He looked to where he came from to look at the swordsman, but he wasn't there anymore. Zoro once again appeared behind the looking Miyakuro. "You should never look to where your opponent was," said Zoro as he attacked the slow-turning Miyakuro once again. Miyakuro was flung to the other side of the ship, causing the ship to rock. Miyakuro quickly stood up and began to look all around the deck and thought, _"He's different from before. He's really trying to kill me. I have to get faster. Help me Yamonijo."_ Robin looked at the fight going on and watched the swordsman's behavior change from his fights with the gang members and his fight with their leader. _"He's trying to finish this fight quickly. His injuries are catching up on him, but he seems to have another motivation behind it,"_ she thought as she attended to the injured crew, starting with the ship's doctor.

Yamonijo responded to Miyakuro's mental plea, saying, _**"I Will Give You As Much Power As I Can, But You Must Defeat Him Soon. His Sword Is The Only Thing That Is Preventing Your Full Power."**_ Zenmetsu pulsated as more dark energy became infused with the gang leader. Zoro attacked once again, but the powered-up Miyakuro was able to block and not move. "Now the fight is on, Zoro," said Miyakuro as he began to go on the offensive. The clashes of the swords caused multiple shock waves on the deck and rocked the ship from side to side. Sparks flew from the blades as they continued to strike one another. Fatigue was beginning to show its face on the Straw Hat swordsman as the attacks from his opponent began to get closer to him. Miyakuro was beginning to feel the dark energy leave him as well, as the continued exposure of Wado Ichimonji was causing the dark energy to leave him.

After another clash that sent the two flying from each other, Miyakuro spotted Robin as she was on her way to checking on Nami and Sanji. _**"There's The Maiden Of Flower. Kill Her Now, And We'll Be Unstoppable,"**_ said Yamonijo in the mind of Miyakuro as he created an arm of dark energy and sent it towards the archaeologist, capturing her, and bringing her towards him. "ROBIN! You BASTARD," yelled the green-haired swordsman as he lunged at Miyakuro with a look of death blazed in his eyes. Miyakuro squeezed his giant arm, causing Robin to scream out in pain. "Hold it right there, Zoro. One more step and I'll squeeze her until her head pops off," said Miyakuro as his grip continued to tighten. Robin let out another scream, causing the swordsman to stop. "Now that's a good pirate," said the cocky Miyakuro as Zoro growled in rage as his grip on Wado tightened as the man continued, "Now throw that sword of yours off the ship and come with me, and I will let her go."

Yamonijo grew concerned with this deal and questioned Miyakuro. _**"Why Are You Making This Deal? Kill Her Now."** "Relax, I got this." **"As Long As The Maiden Lives, Our Plan Has The Chance To Fail. Kill Her NOW."** "Look, I have this already figured out, okay? You may not know the nature of the powers and all, but she is a Devil Fruit user which means that she and other users have one natural weakness." **"One Weakness? What Do You Mean?"** "As it goes, for having such powers that defies the seas, they have been cursed with the inability to swim if they are in the sea." **"So You Are Still Planning On Killing Her By Throwing Her In The Sea?"** "Of course. I said I'd let her go, didn't I?" **"Very Good, Miyakuro. Very Good Indeed."**_ The internal conversation ended between the two in time for Miyakuro to focus on Zoro sheathing Wado and preparing to toss it into the sea.

The swordsman turned towards the port side and sighed as his eye on the side of the mikan trees blinked. He tossed the sword over the banister, and the splash resulting from the toss sounded like sweet music to the ears of Miyakuro. As the sword disappeared from the hands of Zoro, the overwhelming surge of dark energy began to suffocate the green-haired man as he collapsed to a knee. He struggled to get back up to both feet as he turned to Miyakuro and said, "There. It's done. Now let her go. I've done what you said." "Now that's a good pirate," said Miyakuro as he began to lower his arm as if to set down the captured Robin. Just before her feet touched the deck of the ship, Miyakuro smiled an evil sneer as he threw the raven-haired woman over the edge of the ship with her body splashing into the water. "ROBIN!" The swordsman turned from the malicious Miyakuro and prepared to dive into the water to save the drowning archaeologist, but he was stop by a forceful punch on the back of his head, causing him to crash into the deck of the ship. Miyakuro laughed as he picked up the unconscious swordsman and began to leave the now devastated deck of the Straw Hats as the archaeologist continued to descend into the depths of the sea.

**Attack Names:**

Kokutei Roseo - Carving Hoof Cherry Blossom

Torimochi Boshi – Sticky Star

Armée de L'Air Thunder Swallow Shoot – Air Force Thunder Swallow Shoot

Yami Nami – Darkness Wave

Yami Dageki – Darkness Strike

Sanjyu Roku Pound Hou – 36 Pound Cannon or 36 Caliber Phoenix


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Zoro's Survival Through A Hellish Capture**

The eyes of the swordsman shot open as he looked around to see that he was on the deck of the Thousand Sunny. The confused swordsman stood up as he saw his captain, the ship's doctor, and the ship's sharpshooter fishing off the side of the ship. "Luffy! What's going on? Where's Miyakuro? Where's ROBIN?" The questioned captain began to share in the confusion as he tilted his head to the side. Usopp stood up from his fishing spot and walked over to Zoro. "What are you talking about Zoro? Robin's right over there," said the long-nosed crew member as the swordsman's eyes followed his finger to see the woman in question walking through the kitchen doorway with a book in hand.

The green-haired man rushed over to the archaeologist and held her closely. "Kenshi-san, what's gotten into you? You are acting strange," said the raven-haired woman as she broke away from him. Zoro stood forward and hugged the perplexed woman closer. "I'm glad to see that you're safe. I don't wanna lose you again," said the swordsman as he buried his face into the nape of her neck. He looked up to see the sky grow dark as concern grew over his face "Oi Luffy, Usopp, Chopper are you guys okay," asked the swordsman as he watched the captain disappear in front of him. The rest of the crew faded into the nothingness as Zoro looked into Robin's eyes. A look of terror began to grow on her face as Zoro held her close. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you, okay? Just hold to me," said the swordsman as he began to scan the area for any threat.

Zoro looked around in the vast darkness that surrounded him, only to hear a sharp scream break through the silence and darkness. He turned back around to see Robin in the clutches of the hand of darkness as it began to pull her away from him. "ROBIN," shouted the swordsman as he ran after the raven-haired woman as she screamed back "ZORO." "Hold on. I'm almost there," he shouted as he continued in the direction the archaeologist went. While the swordsman ran after her, a multitude of shadowed figures sprouted out of the ground. Their eyes glowed as if they were the bowels of hell itself. They lunged at the pirate, baring their teeth. Zoro continued forward as he yelled, "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!" Unable to locate his swords, the green-haired man began to run through the group, landing punches and kicks as he continued towards the raven-haired woman.

The shadowy figures latched onto the swordsman's arms and legs as their teeth sank into the limbs as well. Zoro screamed out in pain as he began to rip the inhuman beings off of him. The bodies flew through the air as the determined Zoro continued to pursue after Robin. With her nearly within leaping distance, Zoro felt something grab onto his arms and legs. He looked back to see several pairs of arms sprouting out of the ground and grabbing a hold of him. A look of terror came across his face as he looked back at Robin. "I'm coming, Robin," said the green-haired man as he started to tear off the arms that had latched on. For each one he ripped off of him, there was another that took its place. "Just hang on," he said, trying to reassure her as he looked down and around him, screaming "Let me go!" He looked up to see Robin one last time as she screamed, "SAVE ME!" This was the last cry to come from Robin as she continued to pull away and became shrouded in darkness. "NOOOOOOoooooooooo," screamed Zoro as he continued to run as fast as he could after the woman.

The green-haired man awoke from his unconscious state screaming as his voice echoed in the cave. He felt a throbbing pain on the back of his head and went to reach for it. His hand was stopped short as he looked down to see his forearms, legs, and chest were tied down with chains. He struggled to break free from the chains that held him down. During his constant motions to break free, he recalled what had happened back on the deck of Sunny. "Shit, I gotta save her," muttered the swordsman as he flexed as hard as he could to break the chains. "It's no use Roronoa Zoro. You're not strong enough to get out of here," rang out a voice as it echoed through the cave. "Shut the hell up. I've got to save her," said the swordsman as he continued his attempts to break free.

"Don't bother. That bitch is at the bottom of the sea by now," said Miyakuro as he walked into the light from one of the few lanterns that lined the walls of his gang's hideout. Zoro recognized his unfriendly host as his eyes glared with an intent to kill. "YOU SON OF A BITCH! I'LL KILL YOU," screamed the green-haired man as he lunged forward, only to fall flat on his face due to the chains. Miyakuro laughed as he casually strolled in front of Zoro as the swordsman kept his eyes on his host as he kept trying to break free. "Now what kind of host am I to let my guest lie on the floor like this,"  Miyakuro said as he continued to flaunt his dominance as he went to pick up Zoro. As he lifted the occupied chair to its standard position from behind, Zoro headbutted Miyakuro, slamming the back of his head into Miyakuro's forehead.

"You bastard," yelled Miyakuro as he grabbed his face and walked around the seated Zoro. He punched Zoro across the face and said, "You need to know you place now, Pirate Hunter. You've lost." Zoro looks back at the man that had struck him and bared a cocky smile. "You call that a punch? Our navigator hits harder than that," said the green-haired man as he laughed a bit. Miyakuro grew angry with that remark and kicked the swordsman in his chest, sending him back into a cave wall and toppling him over in the chair. The aggressive Miyakuro propped the chair back up as Zoro still had a cocky grin on his face. "Your kicks got nothing on the shitty cook's. You don't have any skill to beat me," he said as he continued to rile up his captor. _"If I keep this up, he'll do something stupid and let __me get free. I'm too exhausted to break free on my own, so I'll just have to take the beating for now,"_ thought Zoro as he looked back up at his captor with his cocky smile once more.

"I don't have any skill to beat you? Look where you're at, you bastard," said a riled up Miyakuro as his voice began to grow rough with anger. Zoro began to chuckle at the angered captor. "What's so funny?" The voice of the gang leader was starting to reveal his growing frustration with the swordsman even more so. "You have no skill, you piece of shit," said the green-haired man as he looked at his captor. "You had to hide behind a woman and wait until I was completely disarmed and had my back turned to you in order for you to defeat me. You are pathetic."

The chime of Zenmetsu being withdrawn from the sheath echoed in the cave as Miyakuro stabbed the sword into Zoro's right shoulder. Zoro let out a gasp as his shirt began to grow crimson red from his blood around his shoulder. The look of anger that had been plastered on Miyakuro's face was changing into that of unhinged as he began to laugh that the pirate. "Pathetic, huh? You think that I'm pathetic," questioned the angered gang leader as he slowly advanced the blade further into Zoro's flesh. The swordsman could feel the blade slicing it's way through the sinew and fibers of his muscles as Miyakuro continued to advance it, resisting the urge to scream in pain. Miyakuro's face looked more deranged than when he started as he felt resistance from Zoro's shoulder blade. "Who's the pathetic one now," said the captor as he slowly withdrew the blade from Zoro's shoulder. As the blood began to dribble out, the swordsman was starting to calm himself down from the pain caused by Miyakuro's sword. "You're...still...pathetic," said the exhausted swordsman as he looked up Miyakuro and spat in his face.

Rage flared at its maximum through Miyakuro as he wiped the spit from Zoro from his face. His face twisted as the anger from Zoro's act of disrespect seemed to become etched into every fiber of his visage. He raised up Zenmetsu and focused on the various arteries and veins that lie beneath the skin of Zoro's neck. "You're gonna pay for your insolence, you fucking BASTARD," said the enraged Miyakuro as Zoro's eyes focused on the impending blade and the arm that held it. _"If I time it right, I __can get out of this and hopefully make it back to the ship,"_ thought the green-haired man as he began to tense up and start to time the swing. As the blade came within mere inches, Yamonijo stopped Miyakuro's arm from carrying out the act. _**"Miyakuro, What Are You Doing? We Need Roronoa Alive,"**_ said the voice of the demon as it rang through the mind of his host. _"I was...But he...,"_ stammered Miyakuro as he tried to respond back. _**"Here, Let Me Talk To Roronoa. Alone,"**_ replied the dark entity as he began to completely take over Miyakuro's body. A dark ink-like fluid leaked out of the sword and began to fully cover Miyakuro, seeming to have dyed his skin black as his eyes changed from red to jet black.

"**Well, Roronoa. We Finally Get To Talk Face To Face,"** said Yamonijo as he sheathed the sword and walked over to the swordsman. Zoro's spine ran cold as he recognized the voice from his vision from the crow's nest. Zoro tried to shake off the fear that was gripping onto his very core, and the only way he knew how was to play back. "So, you did all of this to get a hold of me, and I still don't even know the name of my enemy," said the swordsman as started to grow woozy from the loss of blood. He began to shake his head to try and help his eyes regain their focus. **"I Don't Want To Be Your Enemy, Roronoa, But I Want To Be Your Partner. Together, We Can Rule The World,"** said Yamonijo as he paced around the swordsman. "What do you need...my body for? You seem to be doing...well enough with that...body you got there," said Zoro as he struggled to maintain consciousness.

Yamonijo began to pace around the restrained Zoro as he responded, **"This Fool Is But A Mere Vessel Necessary To Get To You. Only With Your Body Can The World Be Conquered."** "What is so...special about me? I'm not that...special," said the light-headed swordsman as he wondered the reason behind him being the chosen one. **"I Guess The Old Lady Didn't Tell You. The Family Name Of The Original Body Was Roronoa,"** said the evil entity as Zoro's eyes widened as he continued, **"That's The Reason Behind Your Inhuman Strength And Ferocity."** Zoro let out a sigh as he hung his head down as he began to realize that this fate was part of his family's legacy. He took in a breath as he began to calm down from this revelation of information. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm not interested in ruling the world. I'm really not interested in loaning out my body to you either," said the swordsman as he raised his head back up to look Yamonijo in the eyes.

Yamonijo looked back at the green-haired man and began to chuckle. The sinister-sounding laugh echoed in the cave, causing it to sound like a pit of hell itself. "What's so..funny, asshole," questioned the swordsman as consciousness began to fade from him once more. **"Your Interests Are Wrong On Two Levels. The First Being That You Won't Be Ruling The World; I Will Be Ruling It,"** said the evil force as it came closer to Zoro. "And what's...the second one," asked the swordsman as his captor grabbed the hair on his head and tilted it back with his left hand. **"The Second Being That You Think You Have A Choice In The Matter At All,"** said Yamonijo as he took his right hand and inserted the fingers like a blade into the open wound in Zoro's shoulder.

A surge of energy and pain began to run through Zoro's body as he started to convulse in the chair, screaming in agony. The scales began to multiply at an incredibly fast rate, engulfing his whole right arm in a matter of seconds. In less than a minute, his full torso, left arm, and legs were completely covered in scales. The screams of Zoro echoed in the cave as the scales began to lay claim on his face. The last image he saw was the cold jet black eyes of Yamonijo staring into his with a sinister sneer on his face as a female figure was barging into the entrance of the cave accompanied by a scream of "ZOROOOoooooo!"


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Tension Rises As The Night Draws Near**

"Robin." The muted voice of the navigator began to clear up as the archaeologist's eyes began to shift under her eyelids. Usopp continued to press on her chest as Nami gave her several breaths. "Robin!" The voice growing louder as light began to swarm through the closed eyelids of Robin. Sweat began to collect and drip along Usopp's face as the exertion started to affect the exhausted sniper. "Please get up. ROBIN!" The cries of the navigator seemed to fall on deaf ears as the raven-haired woman lied motionless on the deck of the ship. With the feeling of running on empty, Usopp gave his all on one last press. The push was enough to force out the water that filled up Robin's lungs, as she took in a deep breath. Her eyes began to blink in an attempt to focus on her surroundings as the sunlight caused her to squint.

Tears came from Nami as she quickly swooped in and hugged the newly awakened Robin. Recovering from her near death experience, Robin began to look around and attempted to fill in the blanks. "Nami, what happened? The last thing I remember is being held by that man and being sent into the ocean," she said as her eyes could now see clearly and noticed that someone was missing, as she asked, "Where is Zoro?" Nami loosened the grip of her embrace on the archaeologist and began to look away. "Zoro, um...," started Nami as began to stutter about the answer for Robin's question. "He, he agreed to demands of that guy that was holding you. He tossed the sword over the edge of the ship for you. After he did that, that bastard threw you into the water. Zoro was about to go in after you, but he got knocked out and dragged off." The tears flowed from Nami's eyes as she finished speaking, recounting how useless she felt during the events.

Usopp went over to console the crying navigator, saying, "It's okay Nami. There's nothing any of us could do, especially after the hellish night that we had." He looked back over to Robin with a look of concern. "After you went into the water and Zoro was taken, Chopper was the first one up and dove in after to save you. I dove in soon after to save the both of you," said the sniper as he looked over towards the side of the ship where Franky was helping to push out the remaining water in the tiny doctor. Concern shot across her face as she remembered what Nami had just said. "You said that Zoro threw the sword into the ocean. Did anyone get it? Without that sword, we can't stop him if he changes," she said as she started to stand up.

Before she could stand up completely, the bony hand of the ship's musician found it's way onto the archaeologist's shoulder. "No need to fret, my dear. The sword is safe," he said as he presented the white sword to Robin. "Wado Ichimonji. But, how? It was thrown into the ocean," questioned the raven-haired woman. "Thrown, yes. Into the ocean, no," said the skeleton as he chuckled. He began to recount the actions that had transpired.

"Zoro-san was caught in a predicament, with you being the shield for the opponent. He knew that we could not lose the sword for the sake of the world. He also knew that if he didn't comply, you would be killed, which would also lead to the end of the world. As he walked over to the edge of the ship, his eye locked with mine as I was getting out of the mikan tree. He blinked his eye a couple of times, as if to signal me. I went with that assumption and snuck off the opposite side of the ship. Thanks to my body being all bones, I was able to run across the top of the water and catch the sword before it sank to the bottom. I dropped one of Nami's mikans in the water in its place," said the skeleton swordsman as he handed the sword to his compatriot.

Robin took the sword from her skeletal companion with a smile. "Thank you, Brook-san. We still have a chance," said the raven-haired woman as she began to look across the deck, seeing the bodies of their attackers strewn everywhere. Her eyes began to focus on her surroundings and the position of the sun. "It's midday. We have to find Zoro before he is transformed," said the archaeologist as she began to look at the bodies strewn across the deck. "Everyone, check to see if any of these people are alive and conscious enough to tell us what we need to know." The crew started to spread out across the deck and the dock, searching amongst the bodies for a person still capable of talking. Body after body, the crew was unable to find one conscious enough to speak, let alone open their eyes. As Chopper checked the few bodies that haven't been checked, a groan emerged from the bodies. "Everyone, I found one," said the doctor as he began to uncover the body. As the crew began to converge on the groaning enemy, the reindeer began to perform a prognosis. "This man is barely conscious, and he seems to be missing both of his hands. I'll start treating him and bringing him into a more conscious state. You can ask him your questions, but do it slowly.," cautioned the doctor.

As he began to work on the nearly unconscious Yanshiro, he propped the man up against the mast and turned towards the crew's sharpshooter. "Usopp, head into my office and grab the smelling salts off of the third shelf," said the doctor as he reached into his bag and grabbed some bandages. "O-o-okay," said the long-nosed man as he began to make his way to the medical room. Chopper started to bandage up the man across the large gash left by Zoro across the man's chest. Usopp returned quickly with the salts, which Chopper swayed underneath the man's nose. As the man sniffed and was aroused into a more conscious state, Nami walked over to the man and leaned in, asking "Hey, what's your name?" Robin started to pace in the background as she awaited to know where Zoro was taken. As the groggy eyes of Yanshiro began to focus on his surroundings, he looked up and saw the orange-haired woman leaning over, asking him for his name. "None ya business ," he said in a weak, raspy voice. Nami grew a bit angered from the man's response as Robin began to grow even more impatient. "I don't think you're in any position to be this cocky. Now, tell us. Where did your leader take Zoro," questioned the navigator as her voice began to show her anger.

"I ain't tellin' ya shit," said the now fully-conscious Yanshiro as he turned his head away from the inquisitive Nami. Robin took this as the last straw and made her way over to Yanshiro. She slammed her hand next to Yanshiro's head against the mast, yelling, "Stop toying with us. Tell me where Zoro is. Tell me!" Her voice quivered with anger and desperation with that last statement as her eyes burned with rage yet teared up as though to quench the fire. Yanshiro looked at Robin in the eyes and said, "Fuck off bitch. I ain't sayin' nothin'." He spat at Robin; the blob of saliva landed on her cheek. The tears that once filled her eyes seemed to evaporate suddenly as the fires of rage flared into that of a supernova. In a swift motion and fueled by anger, she made arms appear along the mast and wrap around the man. The arms along the mast began to carry the man to the top, as the man began to freak out. As she wiped the spit off of her face, she looked up at the man and yelled, "Tell me where Zoro is." "Go fuck yourse...," said Yanshiro as his reply was cut off by the arms on the mast letting him go, letting gravity carry him to the deck. Her crew mates gasped as the man screamed on the way down. "Wait, Robin. What are you doing? We need him to tell us where Zoro is," said Nami as she tried to reason with the irate archaeologist.

As the screaming Yanshiro was a mere inches from smashing face first into the deck, a set of arms grew out and caught the man. As she had the arms turn him upright, Robin looked him in the eyes and said, "Are you ready to talk now, or do you wanna try me again?" Yanshiro shuddered from the fear that surged through his body as the cold, yet fiery stare of Robin seemed to pierce his very soul. He shook it off as he tried to play it tough, saying, "You ain't got the stones, bitch." Robin looked at him, then over to the railing. "Well, if heights won't work, let's try lowering," she said as she had a vine of arms grow from one of the sail beams and grab the arms that wrapped around Yanshiro's ankles. "H-hey! What are you doing, you crazy bitch," questioned the man as he became upside down. Robin walked over to the railing and began to have more arms grow at the end of the arm vine, slowly lowering Yanshiro head first into the ocean water. "Now tell me, where was Zoro taken?" The coldness in her voice seemed to match her stare now, as she looked at the man with a gaze that would make a field of lava turn to ice. "Eat a di...," started Yanshiro as he was cut off again by Robin's actions, which consisted of dunking him head first into the ocean. His legs began to kick wildly and his body wiggled, trying to break free from Robin's grasp. As the bubbles began to lower in number, Robin raised the man from cold waters. "Tell me," stated the raven-haired woman as Yanshiro took in a couple of deep breaths. "Shove it up your a...," yelled the man as he was dunked again in mid-sentence. His motions continued their damnedest to break free, but like the bubbles, they began to lower in amount. "Robin, he can't take any more of this. You have to stop," cried out the doctor as tears flowed from his eyes.

Robin lifted the man back onto the deck as he gasped the air, coughing up water. "You crazy ass bitch. You can go fuck off. I ain't gonna tell you where that weak asshole is at," yelled Yanshiro as his breathing rate returned to normal. Robin's eyes grew from cold to red-hot as this arrogant man belittled Zoro. She turned towards her crew as she said in a cold, monotonous voice, "Everyone, please head inside the cabin." Her nakama grew puzzled as she continued, "I'm going to get the information, but I don't want to expose you all to my old methods." Everyone gasped in shock as Nami asked, "W-what do you mean, Robin?" "Everything I've done so far has been me going easy. We don't have time for easy; we need results now." The statement was cold and fear-inducing, causing Usopp to grab Chopper and Luffy and drag them into the cabin.

As the rest of the crew walked inside the cabin, Nami attempted to plead with the older crew mate, but Sanji grabbed her shoulders and pulled her back, shaking his head. "It's no use, Nami-san. Robin-chan is adamant about this, and there's nothing we can do to stop her," he said as he pulled her into the cabin. As the door shut, Robin turned back to Yanshiro as she stared him in the eyes. The rage that she hid from her nakama began to surface in her voice as she said, "This is your last chance before I begin. Tell me where Zoro is. If you don't, I won't stop until either you tell me or you die." Yanshiro's eyes grew wide as he started to laugh, saying, "You, kill me? Then how will you know where your weak ass boyfriend is?" Her eyebrow twitched at his statement as she leaned in, saying, "I'll just wake up one of your other friends and show them what I did to you. That will give me the answer I need." She said as she made hands appear on various parts of the man's body, grabbing a hold of them. "Say it now, or else, I start going to work," said the archaeologist.

The crew sat inside the central cabin, posed near the door trying to hear whatever they could from beyond it. They heard Yanshiro cry out, "Fuck off. Do your worst." The next sound they heard was snap of a bone and the scream of the man. Chopper cringed at the scream, covering his ears as he ran off crying. Sanji turned and yelled, "Chopper! Come back," as he ran after the reindeer. Usopp staggered back in fear as the sounds and screams continued to ring through the air. Nami teared up and shuddered with each sound. Luffy, Brook, and Franky looked towards the wall with a sorrowful expression on their faces as their bodies motioned slightly with each sound. Mamiya went to console Nami, held her close, and said, "I know this is hard, but we need to find out where they've taken Roronoa in order to save the world." Nami's tears seemed to have stopped as an idea came to her. "Mamiya-san, we need to go to my map room. With your help, we can probably find out where Zoro is," Nami said as she grabbed Mamiya's hand and began to walk down the hallway to Nami's map room.

Sanji caught up to the juvenile reindeer down the hallway, tears weaving their way through his fur. As the cook reached for the little pirate, Chopper began to bawl as he leaped forward and latched onto Sanji's legs. "Why is she doing this, Sanji? I know we have to find Zoro, but does she really need to do this," said the young doctor as his age of fifteen began to show through even more. Sanji crouched down and held his nakama in his arms, trying to console him. Sanji exhaled a sigh as he held his diminutive friend tighter. Chopper felt the change in Sanji's arms and heard the sigh, prompting him to look up. "Sanji, what's going on," questioned the furry pirate as the blond-haired man exhaled once again, blowing a plume of smoke up into the air from his nearly exhausted cigarette.

"Chopper, I know that you are a bit too young to understand certain ideas, but I recognized it out there on the deck," said the cook as he paused for a moment, recalling all of the events that had transpired on the deck since last night. "Robin-chan is acting this way because her feelings for Zoro are far beyond that of simple friendship. I never thought that Robin-chan would be interested in a man like that, especially not that marimo. But know this Chopper," he said as he looked down into the tiny doctor's eyes that were still reservoirs for tears. "Whenever you have someone that you can't see yourself without, you are willing to become the devil itself if that means you can keep them near you. Now, let's go grab some supplies from your office," said the blond-haired smoker as he stood up. Chopper eased his grip on the cook's legs and nodded in agreement, saying, "From the breaking sounds from earlier, we will need splints and other bone-stabilizing items."

Nami and Mamiya arrived into the map room as Nami began to frantically search through the new supplies she picked up to find the local map of the island. "Excuse me, Nami, but what are we doing in here," asked Mamiya as she watched the orange-haired woman dig through bundles of paper. "Before the enemies arrived, we heard explosions and saw their actions on the town as they closed in. I'm gonna compare those motions with the map of the island and get a guess as to where they are at," said the navigator as she found the sheet marked "Tsukikage Island." She grabbed a piece of chalk and a protractor. She sat down at the desk and began to recollect the events of the night, marking the map with what she could remember. "Why are you using chalk," questioned Mamiya as she leaned over Nami's shoulder. "I still need to chart this map into my personal collection, and any outside marks will skew my recreation of it. The chalk allows it to be be brushed away later but still leave it visible for right now," said Nami as she made her last few calculations. She breathed a sigh of relief as she had figured that the hideout of the gang was on the opposite side of the island but did not change in latitude. "We need to rush this to Robin now before she regrets killing the man," she said as her and Mamiya made their way back to the cabin area.

As the various straying crew members made their way back, Robin opened the door with a bit of news. "All I could get from him before he passed out was 'the cave.' It was pointless to continue with the extraction," she said in a monotonous voice as she lowered to her knees. Tears began to form in her eyes as she muttered, "I failed him. I failed us all." "Maybe not, Robin. From what I can tell from my map reading, There is only one cave in the area that they could be in based on their movements through the town last night," said the navigator as she set the map on the ground in front of her and Robin, circling the one cave that was within her area of suspicion. With this new found hope from her nakama, she looked up at the orange-haired woman and said, "Are you for certain?" Nami made a cocky smile as she gave Robin a thumbs up, replying, "Of course. I am the navigator after all." Robin stood up suddenly and made her way to the door. She turned back towards Chopper, causing the little reindeer to shudder a bit out of fear. "I'm sorry Chopper. I didn't want you to see this side of me, and I didn't want to make any more work for you. He has sustained fractures at both ankles, both kneecaps, his left collarbone, and his three lower right ribs. Franky, Brook, Luffy. We need to go and save Zoro," she said as she ran out the door, Wado Ichimonji gripped tightly in her hands.

The four Straw Hats made their way through the remains of the town, weaving through the rubble and the foot traffic that littered the streets. As Robin led the way, having memorized the cave circled on Nami's map, tears of desperation began to form as she continued to run. "Just hold on, Zoro. We're almost there. Just a bit longer," she repeated to herself as she forced her way through the people and the pain caused by exhaustion. Although easily the least conditioned for such activity, Robin's determination was causing her to leave her three escorts in the dust, as they continued to fall behind the raven-haired woman. As she approached near the shoreline, she could hear a scream that sounded of extreme pain. "Zoro. ZORO," shouted the archaeologist as she spotted the cave and made her way into the opening, catching a glimpse of the scales engulfing the face of the green-haired swordsman. "ZOROOOOoooooo," she screamed as the malefic Yamonijo turned to face her, saying "**You're Alive? No Matter. It's Too Late. You're Too Late. The Man Of Roronoa Is Mine, And By The End Of Tonight, The Whole World Will Be Mine!"** said the possessed Miyakuro as his maniacal laughter echoed in the cave.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Stop The Prophecy at All Costs! Zoro Vs. The Straw Hats**

The transformation had finished as the scale-covered Zoro was released from his bindings. As the scaly body stood up slowly from the chair, Robin took this time to lunge forward, brandishing Wado and aiming for Miyakuro. Tears fell from her eyes as she rushed forward and yelled, "I'll kill you!" As she prepared to plunge the blade deep into Miyakuro's chest, Zoro got in between the two and caught the blade with his fingers. As a sizzling sound emanated from his fingertips, Zoro's eyes opened for the first time since the transformation, and they were a malefic shade of red that looked as if you were gazing into the fiery pits of Hell. Robin tried to break the blade free from the grip of Zoro. "Zoro, let go. We have to stop this. We can stop this," she pleaded as the tears continued to stream down her cheeks. Her pleas fell upon deaf ears, as the soulless Zoro continued to hold onto the blade with his two fingers. **"You Have Failed Maiden. You And Your World Are Mine To Destroy,"** said the possessed Miyakuro from behind Zoro. **"Get Rid Of Her. We'll Proceed To The Mountaintop And Conquer This World,"** he said as Zoro let go of the blade and shoved Robin, sending her flying out of the cave and into the sea just beyond the entrance. After seeing Robin and the sword splash into the sea, the two members of darkness proceeded to leave the cave and head towards the mountaintop.

"Strong Right!" The shout continued to ring out as a large hand plunged into the water, grabbing a hold of the sinking raven-haired woman. She barely opened her eyes as she felt the large hand grip around her delicate frame. With all of her might, she gripped the handle and sheathe of the sword as tight as possible as the chain connected to it quickly grew taut and began to retract, hauling the hand and its catch back to the surface. As the archaeologist broke the surface of the water, she gasped and breathed in the salty sea air and the visages of Franky, Brook, and Luffy became clear. "Robin," the group collectively shouted as she continued to catch her breath. As she coughed up sea water, she frantically asked, "Where's...Zo...ro...at?" The trio of men looked at each other confusedly, responding with, "We thought he was here." While Brook and Luffy helped Robin stand up, Franky reattached his hand to his arm and continued with, "We lost sight of you as you ran ahead, but we eventually found the cave and were about to go in, but we saw you in the water. What happened?"

As the question left Franky's lips, Robin's eyes began to tear up once more, and she fell to her knees. Her raven-colored hair draped over her face as the tears continued to fall. "I failed," muttered the woman in a monotonous voice as the men continued to look at her. "What was that, Ms. Robin? We couldn't hear," said the skeleton gentleman as the three leaned in. "I failed," she shouted as she completely broke down and cried her eyes out nearly similar to her confession for life while at Enies Lobby. She leaned forward and grabbed a hold of Luffy's shoulder as she continued to bawl. "Please, Luffy. You have to help me save him. I...I...," said the archaeologist as she paused at the start of the phrase. The three men looked even more confused now. "You what, Robin" questioned the captain who has been lending his shoulder this entire time. "I love him. I love Zoro," she said as she confessed the few nakama that were present. Franky and Brook both began to cry tears of joy over this pure emotional display by the generally stoic woman. "Please, Luffy. Promise me that you'll save him," requested the raven-haired woman as she looked up from his shoulder. Luffy placed his hand onto the woman's shoulder, causing her to look up at his face. "We'll save him Robin. Besides, he still has to become the world's greatest swordsman," said the young captain as he gave his trademark confident grin.

With the assurance of her captain aiding her, Robin stood up and said, "We need to head back to the ship and grab the others. They are gonna try and perform the ritual soon, we'll need everyone to stop this from happening." Her legs were still a little weak from the exposure to the sea, so Franky offered to carry her along. She politely refused and made her way on by her own strength. She felt as though a huge weight has been lifted off of her since she made her confession. _"I can't believe I said that. I didn't think I was worthy to have such feelings, but I'm glad to be proven wrong,"_ thought the woman as the quartet of pirates made their way back to the Thousand Sunny. As the thoughts continued to race through her head that convinced her of her declaration, Robin began to pick up speed as trio of men followed closely behind her. Within moments, they were on what remained of the dock after their vigorous battle the previous night.

As the rescue party climbed onto the ship, they saw that Chopper had patched up the remaining Straw Hats as well as all of their unconscious attackers. "Suuuper work, Chopper," said Franky as he patted the exhausted reindeer on the back. "Were you able to get to Zoro in time," asked Usopp as reloaded his pockets with his various ammo. Robin took a breath and said, "Unfortunately no, but we'll be fine. He hasn't transformed yet, and they still need the other two swords to complete the ritu..." Her sentence was stopped midway by a crash inside of the cabin followed by a scream for help. Nami opened up the door to see Mamiya struggling to have a grip on Sandai Kitetsu and Shuusui with the last dark wolf. "Someone please help me," screamed the old lady as she lost her grip of the swords. "Don't let that wolf get away. It's got the swords," hollered the raven-haired woman as the crew members tried to grab a hold of the thieving wolf. Even though they were somewhat healed, their bodies were not up to par with trying to catch a wolf. Even the expert sniper of the crew was getting bleary-eyed from fatigue and missed. Even with the swords in its mouth, the wolf was able to make its escape and head towards the mountain.

"Quickly, everyone. We have to stop them from giving your nakama all three swords," said Mamiya as the group tried to recover from their attempts at catching the wolf. The crews' stomachs growled as they began to fall to their knees one after another. Franky's pompadour fell flat as his cola reserves became depleted as well. Sanji stood up shakily as he made his way to the kitchen, saying, "Hold on, guys. I have something that will help." Not a moment later, the cook popped back into the cabin with a large supply of bento boxes. "I made these when Robin and the guys left earlier. They should give us the vigor that we need, but I can't guarantee how long it'll last," he said as he passed them out to his crew, making a special quadruple-sized one for his captain. Sanji also tossed over three cold bottles of cola to Franky, to which the cyborg thanked him and swapped out the empty bottles. "SUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuPER ," shouted the blue-haired man as his energy was replenished by the cola. The crew began to stand up, one by one, filled with new energy and ready to save Zoro.

"Come on, everyone. We have to head up there now. Franky, can you shoot the Sunny up there," asked the captain. "Franky shook his head saying, "Sorry, Luffy, but Sunny would overshoot where we need to be. But, I do have something new we can try." The crew looked at Franky with look of confusion. The shipwright motioned for the crew to follow him out onto the deck as he went to the Docking System. He threw the switches that would lead to Nami's waver as he explained, "I don't have enough of those dials to recreate Nami's waver, but after testing the power of her dial, I converted it into my cola-powered calculations. Behold, your personal Cola Riders." As the crew made their way to where the mini-vehicles were kept, they saw that there had been a waver-like vehicle made for each member of the crew. "The controls are just like that of the waver, but the power source is two cola bottles instead of a Jet Dial. These should get us to the top before that stupid wolf does," said the cyborg as he struck a pose. The starry-eyed faces of Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper filled with delight as they ran over to their vehicles. "This is no time to be drooling over them," said Nami as she promptly hit the three of them, with Robin following up with, "Nami is right. We need to leave now and save Zoro." With that said, the Straw Hats loaded up onto their new rides and drove out through the side of the ship, making their way to the top of the mountain.

The eight pirates drove their way through the trails up to the mountaintop, seeing Zoro and Miyakuro but no sign of the wolf with the two swords. "Alright, let's beat this guy up and save Zoro," said Luffy as he revved his engine and sped forward, with the other Straw Hats following suit. Miyakuro looked towards the sound of the cola-powered engines to see the pirates closing in. "Well Look Here, Zoro. Your Friends Have Come To Save You. Destroy Them," he said as the black scale-covered Zoro looked at his crew members and began to run towards them. "Oi, Zoro. We've come to resc...," said the raven-haired captain as he was cut short by Zoro's fist coming across his face. The rider continued forward and crashed into a tree as Luffy was sent flying in the opposite direction. "What the hell, Zoro? We're here to save...," said the captain as Zoro had ran over to him throwing another punch. The monkey-like boy dodged the punch as his mind-controlled nakama's fist shattered the tree that was behind Luffy into splinters. "Luffy, Zoro is not himself. We can't reason with him in this state," said Robin as she came within earshot of her captain. "Oh, so I have to beat up Zoro? Ok then. We still need to settle that fight from back at Whisky Peak," said Luffy as a grin appeared on his face.

The listless eyes of Zoro focused onto the raven-haired man as the two ran towards each other. "Gomu Gomu no Pistol Shot," said Luffy as he launched his standard punch and pulled onto his stretched arm, causing it to shake and deliver multiple punches. Each of the punches struck into his nakama's chest and stomach, forcing the swordsman to stop advancing. He caught one of the punches and pulled his captain towards him. As Luffy flew forward, the ship's chef leaped from his rider and over his captain to land a kick, shouting "Collier Shoot." Sanji's heel connected with Zoro's neck, sending the swordsman flying into a nearby boulder, shattering the giant stone into rubble. "Thanks, Sanji," said the captain as his blond-haired nakama landed next to him, but before he could reply, the pile of rocks began to move with Zoro standing back up and staring at them with soulless eyes. "Luffy, let's go," said Sanji as he prepared to kick. Luffy nodded and jumped up landing onto the chef's leg. "Armée de L'Air Gomu Shoot," said Sanji as he kicked Luffy towards their nakama. As the rubberman flew towards the green-haired man, he extended his arm to his side, saying, "Gomu Gomu no." As his arm connected with his first-mate's neck, he continued to follow through with his attack, effectively clotheslining his nakama as he finished his attack, saying, "Kama."

As the swordsman crashed into the ground once again, the remaining Straw Hats were able to pull up next to Sanji as Luffy made his way to the cook as well. Miyakuro saw Robin hop off of her rider, prompting Yamoniyo to become angered. _**"Why Won't That Bitch Stay Dead,"**_ questioned the infuriated Yamoniyo inside Miyakuro's mind. _"Why don't we just have Zoro change into the dragon now and have him eat his friends or something,"_ questioned Miyakuro as Yamoniyo replied, _**"We Need All Three Swords To Complete The Transformation."**_ _"But wouldn't one sword at least change him part of the way or something?" __**"True. But If You Give Him This Sword, I Will Be With Zoro, And You Will Not Be At Full Strength Should They Decide To Attack You."**__ "They'll be too busy with you and Zoro to notice me." _As the internal conversation ended, Miyakuro threw the onyx sword at the controlled Zoro, instructing him to catch. With an outstretched arm, Zoro caught the sword, and the swordsman's body began to convulse. Looks of concern and dread began to appear on the faces of the Mugiwaras as Zoro's body began to change, protrusions broke through the skin along his spine and claws sprouted from his fingertips and tore through the toes of his shoes. The swordsman's green hair grew longer, his mouth and nose began to form a snout, and two small horns began to break through the skin on his forehead.

Zoro stood up and opened his eyes, the whites of his eyes now an abyssmal black color. **"Ah. I Have Waited Centuries To Feel This Strength Once More. Once The Other Two Swords Arrive, I Shall Plunge This World Into Eternal Darkness,"** said Yamoniyo as began to move around the arms, getting use to the body. "Oh no. The demon has taken over Zoro's body. We have to defeat him before the other two swords arrive," said Robin as everyone nodded in agreement. **"So, Flower Maiden, It Seems That You Have Failed To Stop Me. I Shall Have The Personal Pleasure Of Ripping You Limb From Li...,"** started Yamoniyo a kick connected with his newly-acquired face. The possessed Zoro flew off into a wall of rock, shattering the massive amount of stone and crumbling all around him. Sanji landed delicately in front of Robin where Yamoniyo had just stood, having a look of disdain on his face as he looked at his opponent. "No one threatens a woman in front of me and walks away unharmed. Not even my nakama," said the blond-haired chef as he spat out his cigarette. Robin gasped as she watched the Zoro's body fly, saying to Sanji, "Sanji, be careful of your moves. That is still Zoro."

As Sanji was about to apologize to the raven-haired archaeologist, the sounds of tumbling stone caught everyone's attention as Zoro's body stood up amongst the rubble. A crisp sound fills the air as Yamoniyo cracks Zoro's neck while a sinister grin creeps across demonic man's face. His eyes scour the battlefield until they lock with those of the blond-haired man. **"So. The Cook Wants To Die First. Very Well Then, I'll Be Happy To Ablige,"** said Yamoniyo as he unsheathed Zenmetsu Ichimonji as began to go into a stance that catches Brook's nonexistent eyes. "Franky-san, he's about to use his flying blade attack. Quickly change the air current," said the gentleman skeleton as Franky understood the request and struck a pose of his own, filling his forearms with carbon dioxide gas. **"Sanjyu Roku..." ** "COOOOOUUUUUUUUPPPP DE..." **"POUNDO GOKA."** "VEEEEENNT." A malevolent black flame flew through the air towards chef with great speed as the blast of air from the shipwright's arms caused a torrent of air to whip and churn in front of his comrade. The air change was enough to change the aim of the attack to just off to the blond-haired man's left, causing the trees to be destroyed and blazed. "Sanji-san, you must be more careful. This is not our nakama, and he is far stronger than before," said the observant musician as Yamoniyo thought to himself, "_**This Strength Is Incredible. It Is Far Beyond What I had Expected, Even For A Man Of Roronoa."**_ He turned his focus onto the rest of the Strawhats as he stared at the menacingly, saying "**Well, Looks Like Everyone Is Eager To Die."** He sinister grin reappeared onto his face as he began to launch his assault on the Strawhats.

As the assault for the world's future continued along the mountaintop, the battle seemed to have been on another world as Zoro opened up his eyes. Once the bleariness had cleared up, he saw a series of bars in front of him. He tried to move forward but was held in his place. He looked to see his limbs had been stretched out and shackled to the wall at his wrists and ankles. Zoro begins to fight against the restraints, forcing his limbs to the point of nearly snapping but to no avail. **"There's No Point In Struggling. I'm In Control Here,"** said an all too familiar voice as Yamoniyo appeared in front of Zoro, using the guise of his current embodiment. Zoro's eyes widened when he saw this new form, as his visions from the crow's nest raced into his mind once more. Being the type of person that he is, he was still going to try and figure a way out of here, but he needed more information on where 'here' actually is. "So, where are we now, another stupid cave along another stupid coast of this stupid island, and where's your lackey? I thought you needed him in order to move around," asked the green-haired pirate as continued to visually assess his surroundings. The bleak darkness ungulfed his surroundings causing him to strain his eyes to view any details.

"**Actually, We Are Currently Within Your Mind,"** said Yamoniyo as he saw what Zoro was trying to do, adding **"But As You Can See, I've Taken Complete Control Of Both Your Mind And Body."** "So, what now? You here to bore me to death with your whole 'I won, You lost' drivel," snarked the swordsman as he struggled against his bindings. **"Not Quite. I'm Here To Show You What _We_ Are Doing To Your Nakama,"** said the malicious entity as he created a portal-like window, giving Zoro a first-person-view of him fighting against his fellow Straw Hats, causing them pain. A fire of rage grew in Zoro's eyes has he looked at Yamoniyo with a gaze that would stop a sea-king's heart. "You son of a BITCH," yelled the swordsman as he struggled even harder than before against his restraints, causing them to weaken and creak from the sheer force he was applying. A dark aura began to manifest around Zoro as he continued to fight his constraints, leaving Yamoniyo taken aback. The demonic being waved his hand, causing more restraints and bindings to appear off of the wall and encase the entirety of Zoro's limbs as a large shackle secured itself onto Zoro's waist as well. Scared a bit at the resiliency of the swordsman, Yamoniyo decided to escalate his threat by saying, **"Now, Stay There And Watch As I Kill All Of Your Crewmates And Rip Out The Maiden's Heart With Your Own Two Hands."** Yamoniyo laughed menacingly as he faded out of sight.

As the dark aura that had eminated from Zoro began to fade, he continued to struggle and fight against his bindings, but they were bound too tightly. The muscles in his neck flexed, veins bulging from his skin as he tried his hardest to break free. "It's no use," said an old raspy voice from the far corner of the room, causing Zoro to stop fighting the restraints. Zoro turned his head towards the source of sound and asked, "Who's there?" The sound of clinking chains echoed as an old man shambled as far as he could to come into view of the swordsman. "Who the hell are you, old guy," said the frustrated Zoro as his curiosity was taking over his concentration. The old man lifted up his head; his long gray hair with faded green streaks draped over his frail frame. "My name is Roronoa Jan."

Gomu Gomu no Pistol Shot – Rubber Rubber Pistol 'Shrapnel'

Collier Shoot – Neck Shoot

Armée de L'Air Gomu Shoot – Air Force Rubber Shoot

Gomu Gomu no Kama – Rubber Rubber Sickle

Sanjyu Roku Poundo Goka – 36 Caliber/Pound Hellfire

Coup de Vent – French for Wind Blow, but written in Kanji as Wind Cannon

Roronoa Jan – A play off of Zoro's namesake Francois L'Olonnais, whose real name was Jean-David Nau


End file.
